Mother Issues
by TStabler
Summary: Everyone has issues with their mother once in a while. Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson, though, have major ones. When Olivia visits Elliot's mother, it puts things into perspective for them both and leads to serious changes in their lives. E/O Future M!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A new fic; basic idea given to me by Niki31. She requested I use Bernie in a more major way. So, I figured, why not use all of their "Mother Issues?" As always, it's a one-shot unless reviews approve/request a chapter 2. Bernie will play a major role in this fic, if it continues. Hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters used in the entirely original story written by TStabler©. **

_"Maybe God remembered how cute you looked as a carrot." _Or something like that. That's what Olivia had said to him. That one spoken thought, from her lips, in her voice, had been ringing through his ears and reverberating in his head since she'd said it. She went to see his mother.

The possibilities of things she discovered, while talking to his mentally unstable mother, were endless and they terrified him. As he showered, ignoring his wife's attempts to heat things up, he couldn't help but wonder what was said or done. He swatted his wife's hands away from him, turned and shut the water off, and got out of the shower, bolting into his bedroom with a towel half-wrapped around his waist.

"Elliot!" Kathy, his wife, yelled from the now waterless shower.

He didn't answer her. He dressed quickly, grabbing his badge, gun, and keys, and he ran out of the house, shouting rushed goodbyes to his children. He hopped in the car and drove, fast and reckless, to her apartment. He needed to know. He needed answers to his endless questions. He needed…to answer his cell phone.

"Stabler," he spat into the device, turning off the bridge into the heart of the city. "Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll meet you there," he said. He hung up and made a sharp U-turn. Heading for the crime scene, he took a deep breath. Why was what Olivia thought so important to him? She was just his partner. Just his friend. Wasn't she?

He turned down the street, seeing the flashing lights of the squad cars, and then he saw her. She was wearing the shirt his children had picked out for her birthday last year, a pair of pants that made her legs look incredible, heeled boots that would force any man into submission, and a waist length leather jacket, brown, that matched her hair and her eyes and made her look both sexy and tough. He shook his head, not letting himself think so strongly about his partner, and got out of his car. He walked over, smirked at her as she handed him a cup of coffee, and asked, "What have we got?"

"Dead girl," Olivia said, sipping her coffee.

"Thanks," Elliot said with a scoff.

Olivia smirked. "Anytime, Stabler," she said. She walked, and he fell in step with her, over to the medical examiner who was kneeling next to the body. "Okay, Doc," she said. "What are we dealing with, exactly?"

Melinda Warner, M.E, looked up and said, "Seventeen year old, clear evidence of sexual assault. Her clothes were torn with a sharp-edged tool of some kind, most likely a razor blade. She was literally crushed to death," she said, pausing. She turned and pointed behind her. "Found her behind that dumpster, sandwiched between it and the wall of the building."

"Ouch," Elliot seethed. "Can we get a time of death, ya think?"

"Liver temp, now, tells me she's been dead for about six hours," Melinda said, standing. "But she could have been out here longer. Her body was shielded from the cold by the dumpster. I'll know more when…"

"You get her on your table," Elliot and Olivia said together, finishing the examiner's sentence.

"You two have been doing this too long," Melinda said, rolling her eyes.

Olivia chuckled. "Don't I know it," she said, sipping her coffee. "Thanks, Mel," she said, nodding at the woman. She turned to head back toward the police station, when Elliot stopped her.

"When did you go see my mother?" Elliot asked.

Olivia froze, his words stopping her. She turned to look at him and said, "Does it matter?"

"Yeah, actually," Elliot said, walking only the two steps toward her that would keep them at a respectable distance. "When, Liv?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Over the weekend," she said.

Elliot was trying to understand. "You went to see my mother, a woman you've never met before…"

"Whom you let me think was dead," Olivia said, raising an eyebrow.

Elliot scoffed. "Whatever," he said. "Point is, you didn't know what you were walking into, Liv! You didn't know what she was gonna tell you, or do, or…what did she tell you?"

"She told me what I needed to hear," Olivia said, looking at the ground. She looked up at him and said, "What I needed to use to help Kathleen. I wouldn't have gone if your daughter didn't…"

"I know why you did it," Elliot interrupted again. He sighed and pulled on her arm, leading her toward his car. "Get in," he said.

Olivia, not wanting to argue, got into the car and ran a hand through her hair.

"What, exactly, did she say to you?" Elliot asked.

"She told me…about the car accident," Olivia said, hesitating. She watched Elliot start the car, and as it began to move, she said, "About chasing snowflakes."

Elliot sighed, closing his eyes. "Is that it?" he asked. He was hoping it was.

"She told me about your father," Olivia said.

"She did?" Elliot asked,pain in his eyes.

"Yeah," Olivia said, nodding. "Why didn't you tell me, though? About your parents?" she asked. She narrowed her eyes and said, "You know almost everything about my past, my family. I've always been so open with you, and you hid all of this from me?"

Elliot dropped his eyes and sighed, again. "Liv, I didn't want you to think…"

"I wouldn't have thought any less of you," Olivia said. "I actually would have loved…" she paused, clearing her throat. "I would have loved to hear about it. It would have made me feel less alone."

Elliot shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was embarrassed, I guess. Ashamed. I was trying to keep you out of that…I didn't want you to think I was…I'm just sorry," he said, tilting his head.

Olivia shrugged a bit. "She showed me pictures, El. She told me stories and jokes, and she let me into parts of your life you never told me about. And she told me…how proud she was, and still is, of you. Of what you've become."

"Wow," Elliot whispered. "Uh, that's…wow. Wonder why she told you and not me."

"She knew I'd tell you," Olivia said, pointedly.

Elliot smiled at her. "Did she say anything else?" he asked, suddenly worried again.

Olivia smirked. She sipped the last of her coffee and said, "She said she can see why I scare the pants off of Kathy."

Elliot's eyes widened a little and his mouth and throat went dry. "Damn it, Mom," he muttered under his breath. He heard Olivia chuckle, and he turned to her. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"She just jumped right in there, El. She said that right after I introduced myself," Olivia said, smugly. "She thinks I'm hotter than your wife, Stabler," she joked.

"My mother was always very, uh, blunt," Elliot said. "And honest," he added. It was his way of telling her it was true. "I'm sorry if she made you feel uncomfortable, or…"

"El," Olivia said, looking at him as they parked at the station, "Don't apologize. Your mother is an amazing woman. She has a few quirks, but…she loves you, and she's your mother, and you have the chance to have a real relationship with her. El, she's still here." She opened her car door, and just before she got out, she said, "As much as I hated her growing up, I'd give anything to have my mother back." She closed the door behind her and headed into the station, unaware that Elliot was staring at her as she walked.

"That's why you scare the pants off of Kathy," Elliot mumbled to himself, shaking his head. He got out of the car, followed in Olivia's footsteps, and met her at the elevator. "Liv," he said, getting her attention, "What are you doing tonight?"

Olivia looked at him, took a moment to study his eyes, and said, "I have a date."

The small smile faded from Elliot's face and he furrowed his brow. "With who?" he asked.

"Not this again," Olivia mumbled stepping into the elevator. Elliot was right behind her and when he pushed the button for their floor, she said, "None of your business, El. Every time I tell you, I show up and they tell me someone from the IRS called. I'm not letting you run a background check on this guy, or call him, or…I'm not even telling you his initials. This guy, El, he actually doesn't have a problem with my work hours or with my partner, so…" she trailed off, shutting up.

"What?" Elliot asked.

Olivia looked at him blankly as the doors opened and she stepped off the lift. "El, you always find a way to screw things up for me, whether you know it or not," she said in a harsh whisper. "I think…he might be it. I can't let you ruin it this time. He's...just it."

Elliot looked at her for a moment. "You can't…how did…why have I not met him? Do I even know him?"

Olivia looked back at him. "You're not the only one who can keep a secret, Elliot." She turned and walked into the squadroom of their unit, not looking back.

Elliot swallowed hard, trying to figure out how he could get through to Olivia before it was too late. He needed a plan. He needed his mother.

**A/N: Oh, boy! What is gonna happen next? Plans involve Bernie, and Kathy, and...Serena? Should something happen next? Let me know, here or on Twitter: TMG212 **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Liv's guy revealed (she has a brilliant reason for dating him. Wait till chap three), and a date that should have been perfect is interrupted. But...why?**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters used in the entirely original story written by TStabler©.**

"So then he says to me, 'I happen to think you're doing great.' I sat there thinking, 'I'm failing out of law school, I just bombed a presentation, and he tells me I'm doing great?' A week later he was taken out of the faculty lounge in cuffs for fraud."

"He wasn't a real lawyer?" Olivia asked, intrigued by the story.

"Not a lawyer, not even a teacher," her date told her. "He had everyone fooled."

Olivia chuckled, then shook her head. "I can assure you, I'm a real cop."

"Oh, I know you are," the man with her said. "I've seen you in action enough, and I'm the one that has to deal with you and your partner's shit."

"You're not the only one," Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

"Trouble in paradise?" her guy chuckled.

Olivia smirked. "Being his partner is not paradise," she chuckled.

"It takes a strong, resilient woman to deal with Elliot Stabler," the man said. "And you are, Olivia. Strong, and incredibly resilient." He sipped the wine in front of him, then cleared his throat. "We've been together for, what, almost three months?"

"About that," Olivia said, nodding.

"Well, uh, I don't mean to be forward," he said, leaning closer, "But I would love to spend the night with you."

Olivia raised her left eyebrow and smirked. "Since when do we have to plan to..."

"No, Olivia," he sighed. "I mean...spend the night. I want to wake up with you in my arms, and make breakfast, and share a morning..."

"Ed," Olivia interrupted, "I'm not...I mean if and when that happens, then it happens. I'm not going to schedule..."

"You always kick me out," Ed Tucker, her date, interrupted. "Or you leave in the middle of the night. What is so wrong with just sleeping with me? Being with me?"

Olivia cleared her throat and ran her finger along the edge of her wine glass. "It's hard for me to...look, Eddie, I only agreed to our first date because I hated you and thought there was no way we'd ever...you know I have..." She was saved by the ringing of her cell phone. She gave Ed an apologetic look and grabbed the digital device off of the table. She looked down at it, confused, and answered it, puzzled. "Misses...right, Bernie. Sorry. What, um, well, hi." She listened to Elliot's mother speak and her eyes widened. "He did? When? I am sure he didn't mean it like that. We were talking before, I...no, I don't know where he is. He isn't home? Right now? Uh, well, I'm kind of in the middle of...okay," she sighed. "I will find him. Thank you for calling." She hung up and got out of her seat. "I'm sorry," she said, kissing Ed once. "I have to go."

"Elliot?" Ed asked, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"How did you know?" Olivia asked with a sad smile and a sigh.

Ed shrugged. "Well, I know his mother's name, Olivia. And...why wouldn't it be Elliot?" he questioned. "One way or another, it always is, right?" he asked her.

Olivia tilted her head. "What does that...never mind," she said. "He called his mother, which he never does, and told her he loved her, which he also never does. He isn't home and he's not answering his cell. It's kind of sending up a flare."

"Right," Ed said. "Just go," he said, kissing her again. "Call me when he stops being a drama queen, and we'll spend a few non-committal hours together before you take off."

"Ed," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes. "I want you, and I want this, I just need time to..."

"No, I know what you need," Ed interrupted. He smiled at her and sighed as he stood up. He kissed her slowly, and whispered, "But you're afraid of it. Call me later." He winked at her and left to pay their bill, and she shook her head as she left the restaurant to look for her partner.

* * *

Olivia found him, a half an hour later, at a seedy bar in Queens. She rolled her eyes, walked over to him, sat on the empty stool beside him, and said, "I thought you promised me that you would never drink alone. That you'd call me before you did, so that you wouldn't."

"You had a date," Elliot spat back bitterly, scoffing, without even looking at her.

"I did," Olivia said. "And once again, what was supposed to be an amazing night with an amazing guy was ruined by none other than my partner."

Elliot swung back the whisky he'd been holding. "Sorry," he mumbled. "How'd I do that again? I've been here since...what time is it?"

"Nine thirty," Olivia said, signaling the bartender.

"Seven," Elliot said with a firm nod. "I've been here since seven, so how did I ruin your perfect date with Mister Right?"

Olivia watched the bartender pour her drink, then nodded at him. She took a sip of her drink and said, "Your mother called me."

"Yeah, you and my mom," Elliot laughed. "You're regular Bee-Eff-Eff's aren't you?"

"How drunk are you, actually?" Olivia questioned.

Elliot shook his head and held up his glass. "Not drunk enough," he said. "So what did she tell you this time? That my father used to use me as a punching bag, that she once almost got us all killed because she wanted ice cream at three in the morning and made us walk to..."

"She told me she thought you were going to kill yourself," Olivia interrupted. "She said it sounded like you were saying goodbye, the way you were apologizing to her. You called her, El. You told her you loved her!"

"You told me to," Elliot said, swallowing back his new drink.

"I didn't mean...God, will you put that down and fucking look at me?" Olivia said, shoving the glass away from his lips and turning him toward her.

Elliot's eyes instantly widened and darkened. "You look...so beautiful," he said. "So incredibly beautiful."

"I was on a date," Olivia said, reminding him.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "I know," he said. "So you gonna tell me who he is?" he asked, resting one elbow on the bar.

Olivia scoffed. "Not until you tell me..."

"Hey," Elliot said, cutting her off. "Why did you leave your perfect date with your perfect man to come find me?" he asked, smirking.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Elliot, you are drunk and you are losing it, please..."

"You keep saying that I always ruin things for you," Elliot said, folding his arms. "I've done a few intimidating things to some of your dates, but I stayed away from some of them, too. Which means I had to ruin things in other ways. How, Liv?" he asked. He leaned closer to her, smirking. "You think about me, don't you? You think about how I would treat you so much better then them, and how much closer we are. You are closer to me than you could ever be with someone else."

"Okay," Olivia said, feeling irritated and uncomfortable. "Come on, get up. I'm taking you home." She left money on the bar and pulled Elliot to his feet.

"Answer the question, Olivia," Elliot said, stumbling as he was pulled toward the door. "Why are you here, and not with the man you said was 'it' and having the time of your life?"

Olivia ignored the question, still yanking him through the crowd and out of the bar doors. "We're getting you coffee, now, because if Kathy..."

"Oh, fuck Kathy!" Elliot hissed, pulling his arm free. He looked her in the eyes and said, "Would I be here, drinking myself stupid because I can't stand the thought of you being with someone who could be the one, if Kathy really mattered right now?"

Olivia stood, shocked, looking at him. "Are you high?" she asked, half-serious.

"No, but that's not a bad idea," Elliot joked. "Why did you leave him and come looking for me, Liv?" he asked, his voice loud. He chuckled, a pissed off laugh, and made wild hand gestures as he spoke. "I'm asking the question that you should be asking yourself. You know damn well that I'd never even be close to suicidal, you and I were talking about my mother and you knew what you said would get to me and make me call her, that was your goddamned plan. So why, in the sweet fuck, would you leave the man you so adamantly told me to stay away from because he was 'it' to come save me when I didn't fucking need saving?"

"Because the thought of anything happening to you terrifies me!" Olivia yelled back.

"Why?" Elliot yelled. "Why, Liv? You've saved me a thousand times, and not just at work! You saved my son and my daughters, and you keep trying to save my failing marriage. You just keep fucking saving me. You can't stand to see me hurt, and I wanna know why! Don't tell me it's because I'm your partner, and if you call me your fucking friend I'm gonna throw up. Tell me the truth!"

"Go to hell," Olivia spat. She turned to walk away but Elliot grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Elliot stared at her, lowering his voice. "It's the same reason I can't stand seeing you with other people," he told her. "Why I get so fucking jealous, and protective, and why I come between you and them. I know we're gonna pretend neither of knows what I'm talking about because I've had a few drinks, but I know it and you know it. We're not ready to fucking admit it, but even my mother...my half-crazy, heavily medicated mother sees it. She doesn't think Kathy is scared shitless just because you're hot, Benson." He looked her up and down, taking in the sight of her in the shimmery purple dress and pointy black heels. "You are fucking hot, by the way. My mother knows. She knew just by looking at you. Her instincts, however altered by her illness they may be, were right on the money, Liv. She saw it. Why can't you?"

"You're right," Olivia said in a mildly frightened whisper as she held his gaze. "We're going to pretend neither of us knows what the hell you're talking about." She pulled her arm away from him, and gestured to the cab she had waiting by the curb. "Get in," she ordered.

Elliot shook his head, chuckling as if to say "I should have known," and got into the yellow taxi. He had expected Olivia to get in beside him, but she slammed the door. She leaned into the passenger side window and handed the driver a small pile of cash. "Take him to Seventy-Two-Twelve, Castleside Street. Glen Oaks." She shot Elliot a look, then backed away from the car.

"Liv!" Elliot yelled out of his window. "What are you doing?"

Olivia turned back and yelled, "Walking away!"

Elliot watched, pained, as she did exactly that.

**A/N: Do they make up at work? What happens when Bernis drops by the station? And Elliot finds out about Ed! Sparks fly, but are they good or bad? Or both? Continue? Tell me here, or on Twitter: TMG212 **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So why was she dating Tucker? And an interesting phone call with Bernie, a midnight visitor, and a step in the right direction. Or wrong one.**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.**

It took a few minutes to find another cab, but when she did, and got home, Olivia changed into comfortable clothes and crawled into bed. The words Elliot had yelled at her echoed through her mind. As much as she wanted to believe him, she knew he was only saying those things because he was drunk. She tossed and turned, trying to forget about her horrible evening, when her phone rang.

She looked at the name on the screen and sighed as she answered it. "Hey," she said. "I know, I never called. I'm sorry. No, he's fine, thanks. Just a misunder…because he's my…yeah. No, no stay home. Not tonight, Ed. I just want to be alone right now. No, he didn't do anything to hurt me! I'm just…I'm really tired and…yeah. Bye."

She clicked the end-call button, and had just lain down to try to sleep, when it rang yet again. "What the hell?" she groaned. She clicked the button and brought the phone up to her ear. "Benson," she mumbled. "Oh, hi Misses…Bernie," she said, sitting up. Suddenly she was wide awake. "No, I just made sure he got home all right. It was nothing. I wouldn't have been able to relax if…what?" Her heart stopped, her brain melted. "Why are you asking me…I just, um, he's my best friend and…" She paused, sighed, and closed her eyes. "I am, yeah. But I would never do anything to come between…you know that? How do you know so much about me? We've only met once."

Olivia got off of her bed and padded out into her living room, heading into the kitchen to make some coffee. She listened to Bernie tell her how much Elliot told her, and how much she'd heard from Kathy. "I choose to believe my son on certain points, though," she said with a laugh in her voice. "I know my son, Olivia. He would not be who he is without you. You've changed him for the better, dear. And what you've been doing for him…well, everything has absolutely been an act of love. Hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Olivia said with an easy smile.

Bernie told Olivia another story about Elliot's youth, about how lost and confused he had been as a teenager. She told Olivia that she had thought she'd lost Elliot for good when he got married, then ended it with, "And when he called me again tonight, to tell me he was okay, just because he didn't want me to worry, I knew that you had given him back to me. Just like you gave him back to himself."

"Bernie," Olivia said, stirring her freshly poured cup of java, "I didn't do anything like that, really."

"Olivia," Bernie said, "You've done more than you think. I really enjoy our chats, you know. It makes me feel, in some way, closer to him. Since you know you don't get much closer to Elliot than you." She said goodbye and hung up, and Olivia put her phone down on the counter. She walked over to her couch and sat, pulled her soft blanket over her, and sipped her coffee. She was half-way to being finally relaxed when there was a knock on her door. "You have got to be kidding me," she mumbled. She put the mug down, tossed the blanket off of her, and walked to the door, but it opened on its own.

Standing there, with his key to her place in his hand, was Elliot. "Tucker?" he spat, angry. "Ed Tucker? Are you for real, Olivia? After everything he's done to us, you…"

"Nice to see you, too, Elliot!" Olivia barked. "Fucking hell, it's almost midnight. Did Kathy kick you out because you smell like an ashtray soaked in vodka?"

Elliot scoffed. "No," he said. "I left willingly after Tucker fucking called me to see if I was okay. He was upset that you felt the need to walk out on him just for me, and he told me that you…Jesus, Liv! Why him?"

Olivia rolled her yes. "I am not doing this with you," she said, turning away. "You are such a dick when you're drunk."

"Why him, Olivia?" Elliot asked again. There was desperation in his voice. It made her turn again.

Olivia looked at him and softened. "Are you okay?" she asked, stepping closer.

"I need to know," Elliot said, he reached out for her hand, but didn't take it. He got angry with himself, not her, and said, "Why the fuck are you with Ed Tucker?"

"Has he, at all, written either of us up for anything in the last few months?" Olivia asked. "Has he yelled at you? Docked your pay? Had you suspended?" she asked in rapid, irritated, succession. "He asked me out, and despite my intense hatred for him, I thought if I went then he'd leave you the hell alone as a favor for me."

Elliot narrowed his eyes. "You went out with that asswipe…for me?"

"Yeah," Olivia said with a short laugh. "I did. And I thought I was gonna hate it because I hated him, I thought it was safe. No chance of me actually falling in love with him. No chance of me getting hurt this time, but, surprisingly, he turned out to be nice! He is…so fucking nice, Elliot. And he can deal with my job, he can deal with you, and he makes me feel wanted. Something I haven't felt in so damn long." She looked up into his hazy eyes and said, "But more importantly, I'm with him because he's as close as I'm gonna get to you."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "What the hell does that mean?"

Olivia ran a hand through her hair. "He's an asshole, El," she said with a bitter chuckle. "He has a short temper, he's arrogant, and he has the blue eyes…not just like yours, but close enough. He's you only…older…and not as…why am I telling you all of this?"

Elliot drew closer to her and shook her head. "I asked you to," he said. "And you can't say no to me," he added.

"Oh, yes I can," Olivia said, turning and walking back to her couch.

"No," Elliot said, shaking his head. He sat beside her, sighed, and he said, "You can't. I can't say no to you, either. That's why you walked away, isn't it?"

Olivia looked away from him and grabbed her coffee. "I walked away because you were plastered and…"

"I wasn't that drunk," Elliot interrupted. "I was only drunk enough not to care that I was saying it all, but I knew what I was saying, and I meant it. You walked away, because if you got into the taxi with me, with those emotions and that tension, you know what would have happened."

"Get a grip, Stabler," Olivia scoffed. "Nothing would have…"

"I would have kissed you," Elliot said, tugging on her chin and making her look at him. "You wouldn't have stopped me. We would have been in trouble."

Olivia got off of the couch and said, "You're still fucking drunk. I'm getting you a cup of…"

"I'm not drunk, Liv," Elliot said, standing and speeding to get next to her. "I'm not. I'm more sober now than I have been in the last nine and half years. I see everything so fucking clearly, Liv. I'm thinking straight, for the first time in a long time, and I can't believe I owe it all to my mother." He took her hand, finding the courage to touch her, and said, "And you."

"What exactly is it that you think you are seeing clearly, huh?" Olivia asked. "Are you seeing the loss of your wife and possibly your kids? Are you seeing the potential unemployment? You're not thinking clearly at all." She took her hand out of his and said, "Your mother…did…did your mother call you?"

Elliot bit his lip and nodded. "She made me realize that I have to do this, Liv. I can't let you make a huge mistake. I can't let you…it makes me physically ill to even think of you with Ed Tucker, and I can't let you stay with him. You can't spend another night with him. Not knowing how I feel about you, Liv."

Olivia's eyes were deep set, almost sad, as she looked back at him. "Elliot, I'm not going to be the reason you destroy your life. I'm thrilled that I brought you and your mother closer, but I can't be the rift in…"

"Fuck, Olivia," Elliot said, laughing. "Will you stop? Will you please let me make a goddamned bad decision?" he asked, brushing her hair back. "If you really want to save me, Liv, you'll let me do this."

"Do what?" Olivia asked, her voice cracking. She was nervous. She knew what he was gonna do. And she knew he was right before; she wouldn't stop him.

Elliot rested his hand on the back of her neck, looking into her eyes, and pulled her closer with his other arm, wrapping it around her back. He felt her tense up, but she didn't look away or pull back. He pulled her closer and he could feel her heart pounding. He heard the fast breaths she was taking. "Relax," he whispered, brushing his lips over hers. "Just say the word, Liv. Tell me you don't want this and I won't kiss you."

Olivia, her hands resting on his shoulders, said, very softly, "I want this. More than anything."

Elliot smirked, going for it, but she stopped him.

"But not like this," Olivia said. "El, I'm not going to do this. People are gonna get hurt. We need to talk about this, and figure out…"

"Are you in love with him?" Elliot asked, watching Olivia pull away from him.

"Who? Ed?" Olivia asked. She bit her bottom lip. "No," she said. "But I thought that…"

"Are you in love with me?" Elliot asked, cutting her off again.

Olivia felt like crying. Her body was splitting in two and she was in actual pain as she closed her eyes, choking back a sob, and said, "Yes."

Elliot smiled at her, brushed the hair out of her eyes again, and said, "Break up with him, Liv. I'm meeting with a lawyer, so if I can end an eighteen year long marriage you can break up with a guy you don't even love."

Olivia tilted her head. "When are you meeting with a lawyer?"

"After I talk to Kathy," Elliot said, closing his eyes. "I don't know what I'm gonna say, or how she'll take it, but…we owe it to ourselves to do this, don't we?"

Olivia shook her head. "Maybe," she whispered. "It's late," she said, turning back toward the kitchen. "You can stay here if you want, but I think you should go…"

"You want me to stay?" Elliot asked, smirking.

Olivia washed out her mug as she said, over her shoulder, "Like I said, it's late and we have to work in the morning. It'd be easier if you stayed. You always stay on the couch and…"

"You won't let Ed stay," Elliot said, teasing her.

Olivia turned, her jaw dropped. "Who the hell told you…"

"He did," Elliot said, walking toward her. "He wants me to talk to you. Find out what he's doing wrong." He folded his arms and said, "If I stay, I'm not gonna stay on the couch."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "If I'm not even gonna kiss you, what makes you think…"

"I just want to be with you, Liv," Elliot said. "Platonic. Nothing more than two good friends sharing a bed and keeping each other warm."

"It would be more than that," Olivia whispered.

Elliot nodded. "It would. But we don't have to admit that to ourselves, yet," he said.

Olivia looked into his eyes, the ones she truly loved, and she caved. "Thank God you don't snore," she said. She turned and walked into her bedroom, knowing Elliot would follow.

Elliot smirked. He flipped open his cell phone and sent a text message to someone, then dropped the cell onto the counter next to Olivia's and walked into the bedroom.

Somewhere on Long Beach Island, Bernie Stabler's cell phone beeped. She reached a hand out to grab it and, after a few random pushes of buttons, she found out how to open the message her son had just sent her. She smiled as she read it and put it down. "You're welcome, Elliot," she said out loud. She rested her head back on her pillow and sighed in contentment. She knew that while she was pushing Olivia toward him, she had to push someone away from him, too. She had to, if she wanted to be a good mother.

**A/N: A conversation with Kathy like no other, Olivia talks to Ed, and how does Serena cause issues for her daughter from beyond the grave? Chapter four will reveal all. Feel free to review here, or on Twitter: TMG212 **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: A conversation with Kathy like no other, Olivia talks to Ed, and how does Serena cause issues for her daughter from beyond the grave?**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.**

"Mom," Kathy said, putting her mug down, "You aren't making any sense. Have you taken your pill today?"

Bernie laughed. "Oh, child," she scoffed. "I'm perfectly fine, Kathy. I'm just telling you that I like Elliot's partner. She's good for him. He needs a friend."

"Oh, please," Kathy hissed. "Just because she did us a favor and..."

"Multiple favors," Bernie interrupted. "It seems the dear girl is working harder to save your marriage than you are."

Kathy blinked, picked up her mug, and sipped the hot chocolate. Bernie was right. She gritted her teeth and put the mug down again. "Olivia Benson is just waiting for me to drop divorce papers into Elliot's lap. Well, it's not gonna happen. We have four kids, Bernie, I can't just..."

"Yes," Bernie interrupted again. "You have four wonderful children, who you are putting through hell because you can't let go of him. Four little angels who have to sit there and listen to the two of you argue, and listen to you blame their father for things you know he isn't doing. What are you holding onto, Kathy?" she asked, spinning the spoon in her cup.

"I'm holding onto my marriage," Kathy said. "We have problems but we're happily married."

Bernie scoffed. "You two haven't been happily married since your early twenties." She looked at the picture on the wall and said, "Those people in that picture there? They're children! They're gone, Kathy. They grew up, and grew into different people. Elliot's tried, you know he's tried."

"He has not! He shuts me out," Kathy said, trying not to cry. "He doesn't talk to me, but he talks to her and..."

"He talks to her because she understands," Bernie told her. "Because she sees the same things and won't be sick over it all. Elliot is protecting you and the children from the pain and destruction he sees everyday. He knows you don't need it in your heads because he can barely stand to have it in his." She looked at her daughter-in-law and sighed. "Don't you see, Kathy? He lets Olivia in because she is his only way out."

Kathy looked up at her mother-in-law. "How do you know all of that?" she asked.

"I was married to a cop, too, Kathy," Bernie said. "We held on just like the two of you are doing, only Joe wasn't as morally conscious as Elliot. Joe cheated on me, a lot. He did, and I knew it, and we ended up hating each other. He took it out on the boys because he would never hit me. Then he shot himself to finally end it all. To end the pain, the guilt, the regret. If we had just let go..." she stopped talking and cleared her throat. "Is that what you want Elliot to become? Is that how you want to end things? With him turning into a monster? Because it will. He is just like his father, Kathy. Don't think he isn't."

Kathy scoffed and sniffled, crying now, and shook her head. "I don't...no, Elliot would never do that."

"I thought that about Joe," Bernie said. "Kathy, this hatred you're feeling for his partner...for Olivia, do you think you hate her because you think he loves her? You see her looking at him the way you used to, and you see him return the favor, and you know that they're keeping just as much from each other as you think they are from you."

Kathy wiped her eyes. "Mom, you don't understand how much I need this marriage to work out."

"Kathy," Bernie said, leaning closer to her and resting a hand on her knee, "You aren't happy, Elliot isn't happy, your children aren't happy. Why do you need to save a marriage just because you don't want to admit you failed? You didn't fail," she said.

"We didn't?" Kathy asked, looking up and sniffling again.

Bernie smiled and shook her head. "You succeeded in bringing four amazing people into this world, and you succeeded in raising them right and staying together so you could. This isn't a failure, Kathy, it's simply an ending. So something else can begin."

Kathy chuckled and sniffed, and she looked up at her mother-in-law. "I guess you're right," she said. "No, no, you are right. Very right. I'll, uh, I'll talk to Elliot tonight. Thanks," she said.

"Just doing my job, Kathy," Bernie said sweetly. "More pie?" she asked with a smile. Kathy gave her an odd look, but accepted, and Bernie relaxed into her chair. Now, all she had to do was make sure Olivia would be receptive to Elliot's advances.

* * *

"Nothing in any of these drawers," Olivia said, moving through the desk in the office they were searching. She stood up and turned, bumping into Elliot. "Oh, sorry," she said, trying to step out of the way.

Elliot stepped in the same direction. He stepped on her toes and said, "Oh, uh, sorry. Maybe if we...I mean, if you just..."

"Yeah," Olivia said, stepping to the left and turning.

"What in the motherfuck is wrong with you two?" Fin asked, looking at them. "You have been avoiding each other, embarrassed, and jumpy all damned day."

Olivia shook her head quickly. "We're good," she said, purposely avoiding eye contact with Elliot.

Elliot nodded. "Yeah, we're good," he agreed.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go check the bedroom," Fin said, shaking his head as he left the room.

Elliot sighed when he was gone. "What are we doing, Liv?" he asked, not facing her.

"I...I don't..." Olivia tried to speak, then sighed. "Shit, we woke up, and you were...I'm not used to that, Elliot. I freaked."

"Oh," Elliot scoffed. "I haven't woken up like that in years, so you don't need to think I ws totally at ease." He turned to her and said, "But it felt so good having you in my arms."

Olivia looked over her shoulder, looking at his lips, not his eyes. She couldn't look into his eyes. "We're working," she said. "Watch what you say." She ran a hand through her hair, sighed again, and closed her eyes. "It did, though. Feel good. Ya know, waking up with you like that."

"Why are we acting like awkward teenagers, then?" Elliot asked, turning over books in his hands, still trying to run the search.

Olivia stepped closer to him, to help him search the bookcase, and said, "Because we told each other...and we almost...you almost kissed me, and I told you I was in love with you, and we haven't figured out what to do about any of that, so...it's awkward."

Elliot took a breath and took a chance, and he looked at her. "It doesn't have to be," he said.

"Well, if you can think of a way to make this less awkward then..." Olivia turned to talk, but caught his eyes and stopped speaking. His eyes told her everything she needed to hear. Everything she wanted to know. "Right," she said with a soft smile. "We're good," she said. She held up a book and a baggie and said, "And we found the pills."

Elliot smirked at her. "That's my girl," he whispered to her with a wink. He followed her out into the living room of the house they were searching, and they both walked over to the nearest CSU. "Bag this, Ken?" he asked, pointing to the small ziptop bag in Olivia's hand.

"Run it, find out what it is, see if it matches what was in our vic's system," Olivia instructed him.

"You got it, Detective Benson," the young investigator named Ken said.

"I like it when you get all dominant," Elliot teased softly into her ear.

Olivia chuckled, smacked him in the shoulder and said, "Shut up."

"Now there's the Benson and Stabler I know and love," Fin said, stepping up to them. "You two kiss and make up?"

Elliot chuckled and under his breath said, "Not yet." It earned him another smack from Olivia.

"Yeah, we did," Olivia said, chuckling. She shared a look with Elliot, then walked out of the house, heading back to the station to close their case.

* * *

"This place is really nice," Olivia said, looking around. "I had a wonderful time," she said, knowing she'd have to find a way to break things off with him before dessert.

Ed smiled and raised a hand for the waiter. "Well, I wanted to make up for the dinner that, uh, got interrupted," he said.

"You didn't have to...hey, Elliot told me you called him," Olivia said, suddenly changing the subject.

Ed rolled his eyes as he put his napkin in his lap. "Do we have to talk about him, Olivia?" he asked.

"No, I'm not, I just wanted to know why you asked him to talk to me," Olivia said. "What made you think Elliot would want to get involved with our relationship?"

"Olivia," Ed sighed, "He is your best friend, and your partner. I get that and I'm good with it. I just thought he might be able to get the reason out of you, because I can't."

"Reason? Reason for what?" Olivia asked. She looked up at the waiter and nodded, then watched him pour the wine. She instantly took a long sip, needing it.

Ed shook his head and shrugged a bit. "I just don't understand why...why you're always just out of reach," he said. He looked up at her and said, "You keep me just far enough away to be considered the guy you're sleeping with, not the guy you love. You won't spend a whole night with me, you won't let me call you anything but Olivia, you cringe when I even mention telling your friends about me. I would like to know why, because if I'm wasting my time with you, thinking this could really be it for me, then I need to know."

Olivia finished the glass of wine in one more sip. She hated this part of relationships, because hers always ended this way. "Ed," she said, putting the glass down, "There are...parts of myself that I can't give you. Parts of myself that no one gets. No one," she said, looking into his eyes so he couldn't argue. Though, she was lying and they both knew it. "I'm sorry, but it takes me a really long time to get to the point, in every relationship in my life, where I can fully trust and believe..."

"You trust Elliot," Ed said, folding his arms.

Olivia balked. "That's different," she said. "Elliot isn't...we're not..."

"Because he's safe," Ed continued. "He's married, so you know there's no chance of him getting close enough to hurt you, so you let your walls down, and you let him in. You're not comfortable with people who are capable of breaking your heart getting anywhere near it. Three months," he scoffed. "If you can't decide that you want to let me into your heart after three months, then what are we doing here, Olivia?"

"Ed," Olivia said, shocked that he was making this easy for her. "What are you saying?" she asked, hopeful.

"I'm saying," Ed said, slipping a fifty dollar bill to her, "That I can't be Elliot. I can't be your safety net, your protector, your knight in shining armor. You already have one." He got up, walked over to her, kissed her one last time, and said, "I just hope you get to ride away on the white horse with him before it's too late. You have a lot of life to live, Olivia. Don't waste it waiting for him."

Olivia was stunned. Then her brow furrowed. She realized something. She rose out of her seat and yelled to him, "What did he say to you?"

Ed turned around, shook his head a bit with a small laugh, and said, "Why don't you ask him that? Goodbye, Olivia." He smiled sadly at her and walked out of the restaurant.

Olivia, determined to get answers, followed him out, leaving the money on the table.

* * *

She walked up to her apartment at the same time she dialed Elliot's number. He picked up, and as she was searching her evening bag for her keys, she asked, "What did you say to Ed?" She paused, listening for a moment. "Because he broke up with me tonight. Like he knew I was going to...thank you," she said, pausing to look around. "How do you know I look beautiful?" she asked, turning the key to the front door. She nodded at her doorman, then turned, smiling at what she was seeing. Elliot was standing in the lobby of her building, on his cell phone, waving to her.

"This is how," Elliot said. He looked into her eyes as he hung up the phone. "I had to see you, Liv. I, uh, had a little chat with Kathy tonight, after dinner."

Olivia's smile faded. "Oh," she said with a nod. "Well, I expected this. I can't blame her. I wouldn't let you go, either." She chuckled and walked toward the front desk.

"Liv," Elliot said, rolling his eyes, "We decided to..." he paused, watching her ignore him and get her mail. He walked over and took a package out of her hands. "What did you order?" he asked.

"Nothing," Olivia said absently, flipping through her mail. She walked toward the elevator and sighed, looking at her mail, not Elliot. "You were saying?" she asked as she opened an envelope, though she didn't want to hear it.

"I was saying," Elliot began, following her into the open lift, "That we decided that a divorce would be the best thing for us. Both of us."

Olivia let out a hard breath and looked at him. "Wow," she said, smiling at him. She turned another envelope over in her hands, tore it open, and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah," Elliot said with a smile. He watched as Olivia started reading the letter she opened, and he put an arm around her. "She said she talked to my mother and..."

"Oh, my God," Olivia said, reading the letter in her hands.

"What?" Elliot asked, concerned. "What is it?" he asked again as the elevator stopped.

Olivia looked up, pale and slightly shaky, and she said, "My mother."

**A/N: What's in the letter? Isn't Serena dead? What's in the package? What happens when Olivia and Elliot spend another night together? And another phone call from Bernie pushes someone's buttons. But whose? More? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: What's in the letter? Isn't Serena dead? What's in the package? What happens when Olivia and Elliot spend another night together? And another phone call from Bernie pushes someone's buttons. But whose?**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.**

"What about your mother?" Elliot asked, walking off of the elevator as it opened. He followed Olivia to her door and watched her fight with the key.

"Apparently she had a ton of money stowed away in some account in Alaska or some shit," Olivia spat. "She had to be declared legally dead, they needed proof there was no foul play, and now it all fucking goes to me. Well ya know what?" she asked, bitter, "I don't fucking want it!" she yelled, slamming the door open.

"Christ, Liv," Elliot said, shocked at her rage as he followed her into the apartment. "Calm down, baby," he said, running a hand down her arm.

Olivia took a breath as she closed the door. "Sorry," she whispered. "I just thought this was all over, I mean, I thought I was done dealing with her shit."

"Okay, but is this really a bad thing?" Elliot asked, picking up the letter she had dropped onto the coffee table. He read it and his eyes widened as he coughed a bit. "That's a good chunk of change, you can use this money, Liv," he said, looking at her.

Olivia, leaning over looking through the fridge, shook her head. "I didn't need her help when she was alive, and I'm not gonna take it now. I'm gonna find some foundations or some charities and dump the bulk of that cash on them." She grabbed two beers, closed the door, then looked at Elliot. She handed him the can and took the box out of his hands. "You, uh, what were you saying? You talked to Kathy. How'd that go?" she asked, ripping the tape off of the package.

Elliot shook his head. "I told you," he said.

"I wasn't really listening," Olivia admitted. "I got a little sidetracked by the letter from a bank eight states away telling me I am the proud owner of eight-hundred-thousand dollars," she said. She looked up and smirked. "And thirty-two cents," she said. "What is this?" she asked him, holding up a red, silk robe.

Elliot smirked. "A Valentine's Day present," he said, stepping closer to her.

"It's May," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes.

"A late Valentine's Day present," Elliot said with a laugh. He took the box out of her hands and said, "Listen to me, Liv. Kathy agreed with me."

Olivia hung onto his words hopefully, tilted her head, and asked, "About what?"

"The divorce," Elliot told her. "She signed the papers. She called a lawyer. We're done, Liv. In a couple months, I will officially be single. As in no longer married. We talked to Trevor, and as of two hours ago, we are legally separated."

Olivia suddenly couldn't breathe. She gazed into his eyes, trying to make sense of the million thoughts running through her head, trying to figure out which thought she should verbalize. She panted, "So you...you're not...we can..."

"We can," Elliot said with a smirk. "As long as you and Tucker, that annoying, little fuck, are over," he said.

"We are," Olivia said softly, her hands brushing over Elliot's chest absently. "He kind of broke up with me. It was weird. Something about him not being able to be like you, like he knew."

Elliot smirked. "He did," he said. "I may have told him that I was in love with you," he said with a small shrug.

"You didn't threaten him, did you?" Olivia asked, slumping slightly.

"Maybe," Elliot said, still smirking. He pointed to the package and said, "Go put on what's in the box, baby. Celebrate my foray into the world of singledom with me."

"You, my friend, are not single," Olivia said, shooting him a slightly seductive yet evil glare.

Elliot cleared his throat, trying to keep his arousal at bay. "I'm not?" he asked, his voice cracking a bit.

Olivia shook her head. "Not once I put on that barely-there piece of lace you bought for me," she said. "Then, you will be very, very taken." She winked at him, picked up the box, and walked into her bedroom.

Elliot, frozen to his spot with his eyes wide and jaw practically on the floor, knew that she was serious. He got a grip and walked toward the bedroom, wondering how the evening would play out.

He sat on the edge of her bed, ran a hand down his face, and stared at the bathroom door. He knew she was in there, and he knew what she was doing. When the door creaked open, he thought he was going to die, his heart stopped.

"You're staring," Olivia said, the tie on the robe sliding through her fingers.

Elliot nodded. "I know I am," he said. "You...I've only seen you look like that in the incredibly vivid dreams of you that I have, so seeing it...you...in front of me...real...I can't even..."

"El," Olivia said, stepping toward him, "Calm down, baby." She smirked at him and he chuckled as the way she tossed his own words back at him. She took his hands in her and lifted them, placing them on her body. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"I'd be crazy not to," Elliot said, looking up at her. "Liv, I think we both know the risks. I also think we both know that we'll go completely fucking crazy if we ignore what's between us any more, now that we don't have to."

Olivia smiled at him, slipping the silk tie into his hands. "Well, unwrap your present then, El," she whispered.

Elliot chuckled as he pulled on the belt, and when it fell open, he gasped audibly. "Holy Mary, Mother of God," he said softly, eying her up and down. "You are even more...shit, my dreams didn't do you justice," he told her. He ran his fingers over her toned stomach, chuckling when she twitched. "Are you ticklish, Benson?" he asked.

"When you touch me like that, yes," Olivia whispered, giving him an honest answer.

"I'm not gonna make love to you tonight," Elliot said, sliding his palms over her.

Olivia moaned lightly at his touch. "I know you aren't," she said. She knew him better than that, she knew what his plan was.

"I just want to see you...touch you," Elliot told her, his voice low, as his fingers trailed over the hem of the red lace panties she was wearing. He trailed his fingers over her hips, down her thighs, behind her knees. "You are so beautiful," he said to her, touching ever inch of her visible skin. "So sexy, strong, and for a reason I will never understand, you are insecure, but you have this brilliant confidence that outshines ans masked the hidden self-consciousness you feel." He brought his hands up, sliding them over her ass, around to her waist, and up her chest. He cupped her breasts and swiped his thumbs over her nipples. He looked at her and he smirked.

Olivia's head was thrown back, her eyes closed, her lip bitten between her teeth, her moans were soft as his thumbs continued to flick and circle her sensitive nubs. "El," she whispered, "Don't tease me."

Elliot moved his hands from her breasts to behind her back, he dragged one up and cupped the back of her neck, pulling her forward, closer to him. "I'm not," he whispered, brushing his lips over hers. "Tell me, Liv," he demanded. "Tell me how you feel about me."

"El," Olivia sighed, closing her eyes.

"If you can't say it, then what are we doing here?" Elliot asked. "I don't think we're gonna risk our jobs if this isn't real. I don't think I would have listened to my mother if she wasn't right, and I don't think you would have put up with three months of Tucker if you didn't love me. It's okay to say it now, baby," he told her. He brushed his lips over hers lightly again and whispered, "I love you, Liv."

Olivia closed her eyes and felt the blood rushing through her veins. She felt her heart beating and heard it pounding in her ears. "I love you," she whispered. And before she could say his name, his lips were on hers, his sweet, wet tongue was sliding over her lips, and she gasped knowing he'd take it as a welcoming invitation. She tasted him, one taste, and she was hooked, she needed more. Her hands flew to the back of his head and she wrapped her body around his, straddling him as he sat on her bed. They fell backward and Olivia rolled her hips, feeling him harden instantly beneath her.

Their tongues were fighting for dominance, neither one willing to give up but neither one standing a chance of winning. Elliot's hands roamed Olivia's body and neither one was even sure how it happened, but two of his thick, rough fingers found their way under the lace of her panties and started to slowly stroke her bare, incredibly wet, slit.

"Oh, God," Olivia moaned, softly rolling her body against his hand.

"Fuck," Elliot spat, sliding his fingers up and down. It was quite literally a dream come true for him. He felt her growing wetter with every pass of his fingers, and he wanted nothing more than to slide them inside of her.

Olivia bit his bottom lip and pulled. "El," she whispered, her forehead dropping to his. She nuzzled against it for a moment and moaned, "God, Elliot," as she attached herself to his lips again.

Elliot took the chance and pushed his middle finger into her, letting out a surprised groan at the silky, tight feeling, imagining another part of his body where his finger was. "Damn, baby," he said as he pressed his lips against hers, "You feel so amazing."

Olivia could only moan in response as she let the full realization of what was happening hit her. She was kissing Elliot. Elliot was touching her, a part of him was inside of her, and she was close to the strongest orgasm she had ever had, being brought on by Elliot. Elliot. Her partner. Her friend. The only man she had ever loved, and admitted to it out loud. She moved one of her hands down and stroked him slowly over his pants, loving the grunting noise he made into her mouth. She smirked against his lips and moaned loudly as his thumb pressed against her clit and another finger pushed inside of her. She slipped her hand inside of his grey pants and took a firm hold of him, and he cursed and moaned her name.

"Liv, baby," Elliot said with a grunt. He pressed his head back into the pillow beneath him, both sets of hips started thrusting and rolling into each other's hands, in perfect sync, as they did everything else. Their kiss never broke, even when they both cried out in sheer ecstasy, screaming each other's name and cumming for each other.

They slowed their movements and their touching, until it stopped completely. They gazed at each other, a mix of love and shock in their eyes. A slow grin spread across Elliot's face, and he watched as Olivia returned his breathless smile. "Wow," he laughed.

Olivia nodded. "That was...wow," she said, chuckling.

Elliot rolled them to the side and sat up, pulling off his shirt and kicking off his pants. He wrestled with the sheets for a moment before he pulled them up and over them and pulled Olivia close to him, wrapping his body around hers. They stayed quiet, just being together, holding each other, both coming to their own conclusions and realizations. Elliot broke the silence and said, "I'll go with you tomorrow. To the bank. To deal with this thing with your mother."

Olivia nodded into his chest and said a soft, "Thank you."

"Then we'll pick up my kids and go out to dinner," Elliot said. "And then we'll go see my mother."

Olivia looked up at him. "What? Why?" she asked.

"I think the woman deserves to see us happy, I mean this was all her fault anyway," Elliot said with a laugh.

Olivia chuckled. "Yeah," she said. "I do really like your mother," she added with a yawn.

"My mother really likes you, too, baby," Elliot said as he kissed Olivia's forehead. "We should get a couple hours of sleep before we catch a case. It's our night, ya know."

"It's always our night," Olivia said, yawning again.

Elliot laughed and yawned, kissed her lips sweetly, and pulled her closer. It was the first time in a long time they'd both fallen asleep without a problem and with a smile.

* * *

"Who is this?" Cragen asked, trying to listen to the woman on the phone. "Oh, uh, hello Misses Stabler. What? No, uh, I can't do that unless I get...divorced? No, he didn't tell me about...okay, but Elliot would have to come in and...I can not take her off of his policy unless...I understand that, but I don't think...she's gonna try to what?" he asked. He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Does Elliot know? I need his signature. I will prcess the paperwork, but he would have to sign...okay, okay, I will look. Hold on." He put the phone down and opened his desk drawer, flipping through files. He found Elliot's and pulled it out, flipping it open.

He read through his personal information sheet and he seemed confused. He picked up the phone again and said, "Uh, well, it seems that she isn't, actually. No. So she wouldn't be in charge of anything anyway. His medical proxy is Olivia."

He listened to the woman speak and rolled his eyes. "I don't know that, Misses Stabler, so I couldn't...wait, you're not asking? Telling me...you're telling me that they're...look, Misses Stabler, I'm going to hang up the phone before I start yelling or saying very disrespectful things. Thank you for calling."

He hung up and took a deep breath, letting it out with a lick of his lips. He looked up and he shook his head, never wanting a drink more in his life than he did right now. "Jesus," he said. "I hope to God she's wrong."

**A/N: What did Bernie tell Cragen? Are we gonna find out? And what will happen when Olivia wakes up in Elliot's arms? Technically, he is spending the night after an intimate moment, something that's never happened before. We get some time with the kids, who have mother issues of their own. Oh, and what will the bank say to Olivia about her mother? More? Tell me here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: What did Bernie tell Cragen? Are we gonna find out? And what will happen when Olivia wakes up in Elliot's arms? Technically, he is spending the night after an intimate moment, something that's never happened before. We get some time with the kids, who have mother issues of their own. Oh, and what will the bank say to Olivia about her mother?**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.**

The alarm buzzed obnoxiously in her ear. She shot an arm out, slapping the button to quiet it, and opened one eye to look at the time. "Fucking hell," she mumbled into her pillow. She tried to roll over, but when she found she couldn't, she opened her eyes wide. The panic set in. The moment she'd dreaded for years, the morning after with the man she loved, had arrived. Technically, it wasn't really the morning after, since she and Elliot hadn't had sex, but it was close enough for her to be worried about the reaction. She was worried about what would happen now that he had a chance to "sleep on it" and think about things.

Elliot moaned, rolling further onto her, pulling her close. "Ten more minutes," he mumbled, dropping a kiss to her neck.

Olivia stilled, her breath slowing. "El," she whispered. "Come on, get up," she said, nudging him.

"Oh, I'm up," Elliot said with a closed-eyed smirk. He ran his hands over her body and kissed her neck. "Trust me," he whispered.

Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes, smirking. "El, come on, we have to..."

"The bank isn't even open yet, Liv. Relax," Elliot said. He looked at her, his eyes wide open now, and said, "It's just me, baby. I'm not going anywhere, and you don't have to keep those walls up with me."

"It's not that, I..." Olivia paused, then looked at him. "I was just afraid that you'd wake up regretting this. Us."

"The only thing I regret is that doing whatever I did to make you think I would regret it," Elliot told her, pulling her toward him. "I love you, and I'm diving in head first. Now, I know you might still need to use your swimmies..."

"Shut up," Olivia laughed, kissing him. "If you're diving in, I'm gonna be right behind you." She tilted her head and said, "We have to keep each other from drowning."

Elliot looked up at her and smiled as he leaned in, kissing her slowly, proving that waking up together was nothing to be afraid of.

* * *

"Relax, Don," Ed Tucker said, handing a file to Cragen. "Stabler's mother has, uh, issues. She gets emotional and tends to blow things out of proportion. Just because she said that Benson and Stabler are seeing each other, it doesn't make it true. She's probably trying to justify her son's impending divorce. Stabler hasn't even talked to his mother in years."

"How the hell do you know?" Cragen asked.

Tucker sighed and said, "Olivia told me."

"Why the hell would Olivia tell you that?" Cragen asked, confused.

Tucker ran a hand down his face. "We, uh, we were seeing each other. We ended things, though, she has this thing about dating people she works with." He pressed his lips together, hating the words as they came out of his mouth. "She has made it perfectly clear that nothing could possibly happen between her and Stabler. Calm down."

Cragen took a deep breath and said, "And them being each other's medical..."

"It happens," Tucker interrupted. "They trust each other more than anything, and they put their lives in each other's hands at work, so it makes sense that they would do the same with their lives outside of work."

Cragen nodded. "I just don't want you to think..."

"I don't think anything," Tucker said. "Now get out of my office and get back to work, Don."

Cragen nodded and left, then Tucker plopped into his chair. He ran a hand down his face and said, "If that doesn't prove I love you, Benson, nothing will."

* * *

"So this was going to her anyway?" Elliot asked, looking at the man behind the desk.

The bank manager nodded. "It was in her will, according to her lawyer," he paused, pointing at the man to his left. "So yes. We have to hand this over to her." He handed Elliot a certified check.

Elliot looked at it, then handed it to Olivia. "What are you gonna do with it?" he asked, watching her eyes scan over the numbers.

"Don't know," Olivia said, sighing. "Get a bigger apartment, donate most of it," she said. "Hey, I can put all of your kids through school with this," she laughed.

"You mean," the lawyer interrupted, "You aren't married?"

Olivia shook her head. "No," she said, "Why?"

"Well, then you can only spend half of that," the man said. He handed her a copy of the file on the account and her mother's will. "It says that if you, Olivia Benson, are single at the time this money comes into your possession, then you have to use half of it to pay for your wedding."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Olivia asked, her eyes widening at the paper. "God damn it, Mom," she spat, shaking her head. "She can do that?" she asked, looking up.

"Your mother had stipulations," the lawyer said. "Once you deposit that check, there will be a four-hundred-thousand dollar hold on your account, until you need to make purchases for your wedding."

Olivia scoffed and chuckled. "Guess I'm gonna die with four-hundred-grand in my account." she said, folding the check. "Thanks for, uh, making me hate my mother even more than I already did." She rose from her chair and headed for the door.

Elliot stood, shook the hands of the manager and the lawyer, then ran after Olivia. "Hey," he called, catching up to her in the lobby of the back. "What was that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"You're not...a wedding, I mean, you don't think..." Elliot was having trouble asking the question he needed the answer to.

Olivia pushed through the doors. "Elliot, please," she said. "It's not that I don't wanna get married, I just don't wanna use that money to do it," she explained. "The last thing I want is to have to thank her for..."

"Honey," Elliot said, stopping her before they got into the car. "She owes you," he said. "She owes you a lot more than eight-hundred grand, but if that's all she can offer you for your years of pain and suffering, the self loathing that you still deal with, then take the money. Use it. Spend it, and don't feel guilty. Don't even think of it as coming from her, think of it as...a, uh, a legal settlement. It's what you would get if you ever had to sue her for emotional damages."

Olivia took a breath. Then looked at him. "Maybe, you're right," she said nodding. She smiled at him and gave a slight shrug as she said, "But now I have another problem."

"What's that?" Elliot said, chuckling.

"Who the hell did my mother think I was gonna marry?" Olivia asked, irritated. "Four-hundred-thousand-dollars for a wedding? I could invite everyone in the city and not spend that much," she argued.

Elliot opened the door to the car, helping her in, and said, "I think it's meant for everything. Honeymoon, hair, nails, dresses, maybe a new house. She wanted to take care of you the only way she knew how." He closed the door and walked around to the other side.

Olivia watched him get into the driver's seat and said, "You are giving my mother too much credit."

"I don't think you're giving her enough," Elliot said. "She may have had this horrifying inability to love you, but when she was sober, she knew she was responsible for you. I'm sure, baby, that she had moment of regret. Think of this as a really fucked-up apology."

Olivia shook her head and laughed. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" Elliot asked, pulling out of the bank's parking lot.

"Coming with me, being here, making me see that this isn't such a bad thing," Olivia listed. "And for...loving me," she said, looking down.

"Hey," Elliot said, shaking his head. "You never have to thank me for that." He took her hand and drove, silently, to his old house. "You wanna stay in the car?" he asked, sighing.

Olivia nodded. "I don't think I'm Kathy's favorite person, and having her see me with you now would only..."

"Yeah," Elliot said, getting it. "I'll be right back," he said, leaning over to kiss her. He walked to the door, knocked, and waited.

Kathy opened the door, smiled at him, and softened her eyes. "Hi, Elliot," she said, sweet-voiced.

"Hi, Kath," Elliot said, attempting a smile as well. "Are the kids ready?" he asked.

Kathy nodded. "They're getting their coats," she said. "How are you?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I'm good," Elliot said. Then, thinking of Olivia, he smiled wider and said, "I'm really good. You?"

Kathy pressed her lips together. "I'm okay," she said. "I just...did we make the right decision?" she asked.

"Yeah," Elliot said, nodding. "We did," he told her. He saw Dickie, his son, running toward the door. "Hey, kiddo!" he said with a bright smile.

"Hi, Dad," Dickie said, giving his father a high-five. "I'm gonna wait in the...hey, is that Liv?" he asked, his voice loud and cheerful.

Elliot glanced at Kathy, who suddenly looked like she'd been run over by a steamroller. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Yeah, that's Liv."

"Awesome!" Dickie yelled, running toward the car.

"Why is she with you?" Kathy asked. "Sunday is your day off," she said, folding her arms.

Elliot sighed. "Kathy, it's nothing, okay? We're just hanging out," he said, a lie, but he would tell her when he felt the time was right. He smiled as he saw his other kids heading for the door. "How are my girls?" he asked, kissing each of his daughters heads as they came out to meet him.

"Good," Maureen said, then ran to the car.

"Fine," Kathleen said, following Maureen.

"Mom's a psycho," Lizzie said, her bespectacled eyes wide. She shook her head and headed for the car.

Elliot furrowed his. "Why does Lizzie think you're a psycho?" he asked, chuckling.

Kathy shrugged. "Kids," she said. "Lizzie thinks everyone has some kind of mental defect because she read that book Olivia left here."

"Oh, the psychology thing?" Elliot asked, nodding, getting it. "Well, uh, I should get them outta here."

"Where are you going?" Kathy asked.

"Dinner," Elliot said, looking toward his car. He saw the kids reaching over the seat to hug Olivia and he saw their smiles. This was gonna work. It had to. "And maybe to see my mom," he said with a shrug.

Kathy's eyes widened. "You're gonna bring Olivia to meet your mother?" she asked, suddenly scared.

Elliot said, "They've already met," and nodded his goodbye.

As he walked down the stairs, something suddenly made perfect sense. She had a phone call to make before Elliot and Olivia got to where they were going, and hopefully she could stop something from happening between them.

Of course, she didn't know it already had.

**A/N: What issues do the kids have with Kathy? And an evening with Bernie! Reviews are welcome here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Kathy has some issues of her own. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.**

"So nice to see you, Olivia dear," Bernie said, handing the brunette a cup of tea.

Olivia took the mug gratefully, with a warm smile. "Thank you, Misses…Bernie."

"Misses Bernie?" Lizzie asked, glancing up at Olivia quizzically.

Olivia chuckled and shook her head, telling the girl to drop it, and sipped her tea, nearly gagging on how hot it was. She licked her lips and put the mug down on a coaster. She grinned as Elliot slid his hand behind her and rubbed her back gently, pulling her closer to him.

"So how was your dinner?" Bernie asked, addressing Elliot. "Anything interesting happen?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Elliot snickered and rolled his eyes. "No, Mom," he said. "We just had a nice dinner. The kids love Liv, and I thought it would fun to just, ya know, hang out."

"Hang out?" Dickie asked, looking at his father. "You just said that?" he questioned.

"Yeah," Elliot said. "Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dickie shook his head. "You are not a kid anymore, Dad. You can't say things like that."

"Uh, look, kid," Elliot. "I was saying that before you were even a twinkle in your mother's eye," he informed his son.

Dickie looked up at him, puzzled. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"Oh, boy," Elliot sighed, running a hand down his face, "Never mind."

Bernie chuckled and shared a smile with Olivia, winking at her.

Olivia leaned back in her seat, taken by surprise. She leaned into Elliot and turned her head, whispering, "Your mother just winked at me."

"She did?" Elliot asked, turning toward her. Their noses were almost touching; he could smell the tea on her breath and he felt the heat emitting from her as she breathed onto him; he could kiss her if he wanted to, and he did want to. "That's not…she doesn't usually wink at…" he leaned in, but was stopped by the clanging of a spoon against a cup.

"I would like to make a toast," Bernie declared.

Elliot looked at his mother, horrified, then glanced back at Olivia. She was about to meet the real Bernadette Stabler.

"Everyone, raise your glasses," Bernie demanded.

Nervously, everyone held up a cup.

"To family, old and new," Bernie said, gesturing to Olivia, "With the blonde problem finally gone!" She chugged back her tea as everyone stared at her, not believing she said that.

Kathleen, wide-eyed, asked, "You thought Mom was a problem?"

"You think Olivia's family?" Maureen laughed.

"Mom's mental!" Lizzie yelled, throwing her arms up in the air. "I'm not the only one who thinks so!"

Bernie laughed. "Oh, child," she said. "I only let your father marry that woman because she…"

"Mom!" Elliot said, eyes wide and shaking his head, "They know why men and women get married!"

Bernie eyed Elliot strangely, then understood that the children didn't know the truth behind their shotgun wedding at such a young age. "Well, at any rate, I always knew there was something strange about her," she said, staying away from the exact truth for the sake of her son.

Elliot rolled his eyes and looked at Lizzie. "Pumpkin," he said, "Why do you keep saying your mother is a psycho?"

"I read Liv's book," Lizzie said, turning to face her father. "And Mom has all the classic symptoms of severe psychosis. She sees things, she hears things, she suffers from delusions!"

Elliot furrowed his brow. "Slow down," he said. "What?"

Lizzie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Mom wakes up in the middle of the night, and she walks downstairs, and she sits on the couch. She talks to no one, and she laughs at nothing."

Dickie turned around then. "She gets really mad for no reason, too," he said. "And she calls me 'Elliot.' Do you know how creepy that is?"

"This morning, I woke up and caught her organizing the spice cabinet," Lizzie said. "Alphabetically! Barley, basil, bay leaves...like that. When I asked her what she was doing, she said that you would like it better that way when you came home. She looked up at the clock and told me you'd be home in ten minutes, then she ran upstairs to take a shower." She shook her head and said, "Dad, the woman got dressed and cooked a full-course meal at six o'clock in the morning waiting for you to come home. She thought you were coming home."

Elliot bit his lip. "Lizzie, what you're saying, it doesn't make any…"

"Who's Alan?" Kathleen asked, suddenly sitting up straight, eying Lizzie suspiciously.

"Kathleen!" Lizzie spat.

Kathleen shook her head. "He has a right to know," she said. "Dad, do you know anyone named Alan?"

Elliot went white. He looked at his mother, who looked just as ghostly. "Yes," he said. "Why?" he asked, looking back at Kathleen.

"That's who Mom keeps talking to, who she wakes up to talk to," Kathleen said. "She waits for you to come home, cleans for you, but she talks to him in the middle of the night."

"Who is he?" Maureen asked, confused. "I've never heard Mom talk to anyone in the middle for the night."

Dickie rolled his eyes. "You could sleep through a nuclear war," he said.

"Dad," Lizzie said, her eyes curious. "Was Mom having an affair?" she asked, worried and shocked, her eyes suddenly wide.

"No!" Elliot yelled. He shook his head and said, "No, guys. Uh, Alan was Kathy's father. He died when Maureen was just a baby." He shook his head and looked at his mother. "She hated him. Why would she be talking to him?" he asked.

Olivia, under her breath, said, "Same reason I still talk to my mother."

"Not like this," Elliot said, hearing her. "You talk to her, but it's usually to tell her how great you're doing without her." He caught her surprised gaze and said, "I can hear you, sometimes," answering her unasked question.

Bernie tilted her head. "Maybe losing the only other man in her life triggered an emotional detachment from reality," she said, sipping her tea. She noticed the awkward silence and the amazed, blank, staring faces, and she smirked. "When you have as many doctors as I do, you pick up a few things."

"Okay," Elliot said, "So if Kathy's having some kind of nervous break down because I left, then why did she..."

Lizzie interrupted. "It's been going on for months," she said. "Not just since you told her you were leaving."

Bernie sipped her tea. "She knew you were gone before you were going," she said with a knowledgeable grin.

"Grandma," Lizzie asked, "How did you know Daddy and Mom were splitting up?" she asked.

Bernie smiled at her youngest granddaughter. "A good mother just knows," she said. She looked at Elliot and smiled as she saw him smiling at Olivia. Yeah, she thought. A good mother just knows.

* * *

Olivia walked up the steps to her apartment, sighing. Elliot had dropped her off before he went to deal with whatever lunacy Kathy had developed in his absence. He assured her he would be back, but that was a line, and she wasn't biting. She had nodded, kissed his cheek, and got out of the car, knowing he'd probably get sucked into her web, yet again, and now she was walking into her place feeling like hell.

She tossed her keys onto her table, kicked off her shoes, and walked into her bedroom. She instantly regretted it. It smelled like him, and the nightie and robe he had bought for her was crumpled on the floor where she'd left it. She knelt down to pick it up and tossed it into the hamper, sighing at the thought of never wearing it for him again.

She ran a hand over the side of the bed, remembering what it was like to be in his arms all night, having his fingers inside of her, having him attack her with his kiss. She closed her eyes and her breathing sped up as she remembered what he felt like, how thick and powerful he was in her hand, and how it felt to make him cum, how he had made her feel when he brought her over the edge. She shook her head and opened her eyes. "Get a grip," she told herself.

She made herself a cup of coffee and flipped through the fifty-eight channels of nothing on television, then rose from the couch and walked down the hall. She needed to take her mind off of him, she needed to forget that he was with his not-yet-ex-wife right now.

She pulled open her linen closet and pulled out a fluffy towel, then padded into the bathroom. She folded the towel and dropped it onto the toilet seat, then turned on the water, making sure it was hot enough to stem up the room but not hot enough to burn. Just the way she liked it. She inhaled, filling her lungs with the close, moist heat, and unzipped the dress she wore at Elliot's insistence. It pooled at her feet and she slid down her panties, then pushed the curtain to the side, stepping under the scalding stream of water.

She pressed her head to the cool, yellow tiles, letting the hot water run down her back, and her eyes closed. She sighed again and shook her head, trying to let go of the events of the last few days. She'd given up her life for him, then gave up the life she'd settled for, for him. And now, she was sure she'd lost him, too.

She sniffled, and knew she was crying. She hated him. No, she hated what she let him do to her. It had only been one full day. One night and one day, and he had her crying in the shower at the mere thought of losing him. The hand, and the cold gel, on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. She jumped, gasped, and turned.

"It's just me," he said, squeezing her shoulders and working the purple gel into a lather. "Baby, it's me," he repeated, seeing that she wasn't any calmer.

Olivia took a breath. "I thought you'd be a while," she said, leaning into his touch, tense, but loving it.

Elliot worked his hands further down her body, washing her lower back, hips, and thighs, listening to her appreciative moans. "I called George," he said. "I got there, she said she knew something was wrong, but said she didn't want to talk to me about it. I called George and he said he was in the area, so when he showed up, I left. I came right back here."

Olivia crinkled her forehead. "You just left her alone with..."

"A psychiatrist," Elliot chuckled, "Yes." He pulled her lightly, rinsing her off. "She said she didn't want me there, so I left. Besides, I would much rather be with you."

Olivia, as if just realizing they were in the shower together, widened her eyes and asked, "Why are you in my shower?"

Elliot laughed. He kissed her, pulling her close, holding her against him as the hot water ran over both of them. "Where else am I gonna get you hot, naked, and wet?" he asked.

Olivia looked up at him, saw the grin on his face, and knew that her worries and fears were unfounded. This was Elliot. He loved her and she knew it; in a way, she had always known. "Anywhere you want," she said without thinking, looking into his eyes.

"Is that so, Benson?" Elliot asked, backing her up.

Olivia nodded, slowly smirking at him.

"I'm holding you to that," Elliot said, sliding one hand between her legs as he crashed his lips into hers. They were getting just as hot as the water, when they heard the shrill chirp of his cell phone and the blaring, hip-hop beat of her ringtone. He looked at her questioningly. "Who the fuck is that?" he asked.

"It's Fin," Olivia replied, as if he should have figured it out.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Ain't Nothin' But A G' Thang? I'm afraid to ask what my ringtone is," he said, reaching behind her to turn off the water.

Olivia pulled the curtain aside and reached for her towel. "Thank God you'll never be around to hear it," she said with a laugh. Both phones were still ringing as they rushed to dry off, and Elliot turned to her, stopping her on the way out.

"You really didn't think I was coming back, did you?" he asked, holding her gaze.

Olivia said nothing, but in that, she answered him.

Elliot kissed her, slow and deep, making a silent promise to her, a promise she understood. With a towel around his waist, he dropped to pick up his discarded pants and answered his phone.

Olivia walked into the living room to answer hers, and as she listened to Fin, it became painfully clear that she wasn't the only person in the world who had issues with her mother.

**A/N: What's the case about? What is Elliot's ringtone? What does Huang say about Kathy? and one more "Mother" issue comes up soon! But what? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Some mothers are saints, others are sinners, others are invisible.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler©**

Olivia paced back and forth in the waiting room, holding an ice pack to her left eye. She dropped it and walked toward the nurse. "How is he?" she asked.

"He's fine," the nurse said. "You can go in and see him now."

Olivia wasted no time and stepped into his room. "Hey," she said, trying to smile at him.

"Nice shiner," he complimented.

Olivia shrugged. "She didn't hit me that hard," she said. "Elliot pulled her off of me before I could hit her back, though." She smirked. "He didn't want to have to arrest me, too."

"Where is Stabler, anyway?" he asked, trying to sit up.

"He went down to get coffee," Olivia said, stifling a yawn. "We've been up for…" she paused to check her watch. "If I knew what day it was, I would answer that."

He laughed. "Yeah, we're all workin' on a pretty fucked up schedule." His grin faded and he said, "I'm sorry."

"For what, Fin?" Olivia asked, wincing as she tried to furrow her brow, realizing how badly her eye really did hurt.

"That woman," he said, "She shouldn't have...well I mean, she probably reminded you of…"

"Coffee?" Elliot interrupted, stopping Fin from reminding Olivia of something she was already aware of.

Fin took a cup from his hands, nodding his thanks. "You look like shit," he said.

Elliot shrugged. "Wrestling with a woman who had her two year old son locked in the basement because she had your partner in a headlock will do that to ya," he said. "Bitch ripped my shirt," he said, sipping his coffee as he handed Olivia a cup.

Olivia took it gratefully, sipping it. "Some mothers would go through great lengths to keep their children under their control," she said softly.

Elliot looped an arm around her back and rubbed soothing circles, telling her it was all right, he knew about her past and he didn't care, was there for her. "I know they would," he said to her softly.

Fin shook his head. "Nah, man," he said. "This woman was messed up. Cap and I got there, and she starts talkin' about how her husband was gonna be home soon, and she needed to organize his sock drawer by color or some shit, or he'd kill her." He sipped his coffee. "Man's been livin' in Florida for the last year and a half," he said. "Pretty sure he took all of his socks with him." He scrunched up his face and said, "Then she screamed at us to get out because she had to make him dinner."

Olivia and Elliot looked up at Fin, then at each other. Olivia said, "You don't think…"

"I'll call Cragen, have him ask for a drug test on the mom," Elliot said, getting up to make the phone call from the desk outside.

"Am I missin' somethin'," Fin asked, smirking.

"Kathy," Olivia said, "Has been saying similarly crazy things. Maybe it's chemical, not mental."

Fin chuckled. "Nah, I meant with you and Stabler," he said. "You two look cozier than usual."

Olivia silently sipped her coffee. "He's going through a pretty rough separation," she said, looking toward the door. "I just got out of a serious relationship. Now really wouldn't be the best time to start something. Especially since…"

"You try to tell me you two ain't got feelin's for each other, I'm gonna come over there and make your right eye match your left," Fin said, interrupting her.

"I didn't say that," Olivia said, meeting his eyes. "I was gonna say, especially since there's nothing going on. There can't be, it just shouldn't happen. You know that."

Fin shook his head and sipped his coffee. "I know that Paris Hilton shouldn't have made that damn record," he said. "But it happened. People do things they shouldn't do all the time, 'cause they follow their hearts. Do what's right for them. I say, fuck it, Baby-Girl. Sink your claws in while you can."

Olivia narrowed her eyes, ignoring the pain. "How hard did she hit you?" she asked.

"It was a pretty good knock in the head," Fin said, "With a big-ass fryin' pan. But I know I'm right. You know I'm right. Didn't your mother ever tell ya to follow your heart?"

Olivia scoffed. "The only advice I ever got from my mother was, 'Never turn down an offer, and always get his name." She sipped her coffee. "Advice I have never taken," she said, chuckling. "I've turned down plenty of offers, and when I accepted, I very rarely remembered his name in the morning."

Fin smirked at her. "You're all right, Benson," he chuckled, thinking she was kidding.

"I know I am, Fin," Olivia said with a nod. She didn't mean it the way he did, though. She turned as the door opened again, and Elliot walked through. "So?" she questioned, catching his eyes.

"Cragen said Huang needs to evaluate her before the lab will run tests," Elliot shrugged. "But I called George, too, and he said that Kathy definitely shows signs of drug-induced psychosis." He took Olivia's coffee out of her hands and brought it to his lips, stopping before he sipped to say, "Kathy and our perp work in the same hospital." He sipped, still holding Olivia's gaze, knowing what she was thinking.

"Damn," Olivia said, looking away from him.

Elliot sighed. "Yeah," he said. "I was hoping she was crazy, too."

Fin jerked his head as he watched Olivia chuckle at Elliot's joke, and he decided to get the other side of the story. "Stabler," he said, "Something you two wanna tell me?"

Elliot nodded, taking another sip of Olivia's coffee and handing it back to her. "We both think you're fucking lucky you have a hard goddamn head, Fin."

Fin chuckled as Olivia slapped Elliot in the stomach, chiding him. "Man, I meant about the two of you."

"You already asked Liv," Elliot said smirking. "She told you, didn't she?" he asked.

Fin shook his head. "Blind ass motherfuckers," he mumbled. "How's the kid?" he asked.

Olivia nodded, swallowing her coffee. "He's okay. Munch is with him at the station, he ate a whole pizza by himself," she said. "The kid, not Munch." She sighed and said, "I thought I had mother issues."

Elliot stole her coffee again and said, "We all do."

* * *

Olivia and Elliot were waiting outside the interview room, anxious, when Huang stepped out. "Same delusions as your wife, Elliot," he said.

Elliot cringed a bit, but not wanting to discuss the technicalities of his marital status, he said, "Okay, so they were both drugged? We need to find out what or who they were…"

"It's most likely a who," Huang interrupted. "It's very difficult to be exposed to these types of drugs accidentally. We're talking amphetamines, or possibly cocaine. This isn't something they would suffer the effects of having only been exposed to it. Find out who they have in common, who might have a problem with both women, and find out if…and forgive me Elliot…if either of them are, in fact, using drugs."

Elliot frowned. "I think I would know if my wife was…"

"Would you?" Huang interrupted again.

"Maybe not," Elliot admitted. His phone rang, then, and he excused himself to pick it up. "Stabler," he said into the cell. "Mom? Where are you calling from? What are you doing there?" he asked, shocked. "Uh, no, no, I don't want you to…Mom I can hear you telling the man to…stop! Mom! Listen to me, I don't want you to do that, okay? If and when I decide to…I don't think you do, because I'm not planning to…we've only been together for two days! You are…did you take your pill today, Ma?"

Olivia and George were trying not to listen, but his yelling made it difficult. "His mother," Olivia mouthed. George chuckled and rolled his eyes, nodding once in understanding.

"You didn't just…how do you even know what size…what you mean, it came to you in a dream?" Elliot asked, running his hand down his face, thinking his mother's very real problem was worse than he thought. "Please do not…I don't know, uh, purple, why? What? Mom! Stop, I swear…you just bought one, didn't you. Oh, thank God, because…two?" His eyes widened and his head fell against the glass of the interview room. "I love you, too, Mom. Bye." He snapped his phone shut and groaned.

"Something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Huang teased.

Elliot, not moving, said, "My mother just bought two engagement rings."

"Oh," Huang said, smiling. "You know, it's not uncommon for older women to want to wear them for the hell of it."

"They're not for her," Elliot said, sounding irritated, his head still pressed against the glass.

Olivia tilted her head as Huang asked, "Is your mother planning to propose to…"

"They're for Liv," Elliot said, lifting his head slightly only to bang it into the glass.

"What?" Olivia asked, shocked.

Elliot finally straightened up. "She had a dream," he said, "That you and I were married, with all these little blue-eyed, brown-haired kids. She looked at your hand and saw this ring, and she woke up this morning determined to find it." He shook his head and bit his lip. "And what's funny is she asked me what color stone, if I was going to buy you one, I would get, and I told her purple. Liv, the woman screamed and laughed so loudly I think they heard her in the Bronx," he said, folding his arms. "The ring she saw in the dream was purple."

"Amethyst," Olivia said, looking into his eyes.

"Your birthstone," Elliot nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed. "How do I tell this woman she just bought two rings I will probably never need?" He glanced at Olivia, his eyes telling her that he was only saying "never" since George was in the room.

Olivia nodded in understanding. "Just…take them, say thank you, and put them away." She smirked and folded her arms, mirroring his stance, and said, "I've got a birthday coming up, Stabler."

Huang laughed at the two of them shaking his head. "I'll be back tonight with a full work up on your wife, Elliot," he said. "I'll compare it with the results from Fisher's tests, and we'll know what we're looking for."

"Thanks, George," Elliot said, extending a hand.

George took it, shaking it. "Anytime," he said. "Oh, and, uh, you probably shouldn't even bother to try to hide personal relationships from a psychologist," he said. "Your body language and eye contact gives everything away. Your secret's safe with me, though."

Olivia's wide eyes watched the good doctor walk through the doors to the squadroom, and she turned to Elliot. She gave him a stunned, narrow look, and put her hands on her hips, looking every bit the "hot-cop" she was. This was not lost on Elliot, at all. "Shit," she said, "Guess you really do have a noticeable, physical effect on me."

"Uh, Liv, if you wanna talk about noticeable, physical effects," Elliot said, tugging lightly on his pants for emphasis and necessity, "You should be thankful you can at least hide yours from people who aren't trained in the fine art of behavioral analysis." He moved behind her and pushed. "Go," he said, nudging her toward the room. "I feel like a kid hiding behind his binder in the hallway at school because he had a dirty thought about his homeroom teacher," he whispered, staying close to her as he tried to button his jacket.

Olivia turned to him. "That was a very specific metaphor," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"All you need is a short skirt and a ruler," Elliot said, his face an inch away from hers. "Miss Andrews, man, you and she have a lot in common."

Olivia laughed and turned toward her desk, a smirk playing at her lips. She didn't even have to do anything to him, just look at him, and it drove him crazy. She flicked on the computer, thinking about how she could make the day more interesting for them both, and make them forget all about their crazy mothers.

**A/N: What does Olivia do? What happens when Kathy calms down and gets back to normal, realizing where Elliot went? What is Bernie going to do with the rings she bought? Something only a very good mother would do, of course. And Olivia cuts into the money her mother left her. But for what? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: If it's not one thing, it's your mother.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©**

Olivia had been different for the rest of the afternoon, sending narrow-eyed glances at Elliot, sitting perched on the edge of his desk with her legs crossed and her arms folded. She was speaking to him in a more domineering tone, too, snapping orders at him. As they interrogated their perp, a man who worked in the hospital cafeteria, she spoke with more authority than ever, moving with poise.

Elliot's head dropped against the tiles as he remembered the look on her face, heard the slam as her hands hit the metal table, saw the look in her eyes as she smirked and pulled the confession out of him. He didn't even realize where his hand was, what it was doing, only that he had never been more turned on in his life. He groaned as his hand moved up his shaft, and he turned, letting his back hit the tiles, letting the water run down the front of his body. He needed to cool off.

He heard the door open and he froze. He straightened up and let go of his dick, shaking off the thoughts of Olivia acting like a _bad_ teacher. "Hello?" he called.

He heard clicking. Heels against the floor. He swallowed back hard and ran a hand down his face. He waited for what he knew was coming.

The curtain slid open and she stood before him, grinning. "Your mother's here," she said, looking into his eyes, not looking down. Not at all.

"What?" Elliot asked, running his hand down his face again. Seeing her right in front of him with that smirk, her eyes glinting the way they were, he was having a temporary mental break from reality.

Olivia reached out a hand and brushed tiny droplets off of his lips with her thumb. "I said, your mother is here. She has something for you." She leaned in, planning to give him a light peck on the lips, but he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into the stall. She squealed against his lips and swatted at his chest, pulling away from him. "Asshole," she gasped.

"You have been driving me crazy all fucking day," he told her, pawing at her now wet white shirt. "Mom can wait a few minutes."

Olivia chuckled and pushed Elliot's hands away from her. "I drove you crazy because it's too damn easy," she said. "And I am not fucking you in the precinct shower, Stabler."

Elliot grinned and crashed his lips into hers. He moaned as he slid his hands over her soaked pants and shook his head. "Just want you," he mumbled. "Just a few minutes with you," he whispered, his lips dragging over hers lightly as he pressed her against the tiles. "Gonna be here all night, but I miss you," he breathed, the water rolling off of him and onto her.

Olivia looked into his eyes and couldn't be mad at him. She kissed him tenderly and said, "How can you miss me? I've been right beside you all day."

"I miss kissing you," he said, kissing her, "And touching you, and telling you how much I love you. Work sucks."

Olivia laughed at his childish pout. "You do realize that I have to back to sucky work looking like a wet poodle, thanks to you."

Elliot kissed her again and turned off the water, then reached for his towel. He wiped his face then wrapped it around his waist as he said, "There's a pair of jeans in your locker and a grey sweatshirt in mine. You wear that, you won't need underwear, so you can leave you clothes somewhere to dry."

Olivia bent over and wiped her face with his towel, earning a low groan from Elliot, and said, "Genius." She straightened and kissed him once. "Go talk to your mother," she told him, winking as she walked away.

"She's gonna be the death of me," Elliot mumbled to himself as he sat on the bench to dress.

"I heard that," her voice called as the door slammed.

Elliot chuckled as he pulled up his boxers and pants, shook out his hair and pulled on his clean shirt, then strolled out into the bullpen. He walked over to his desk and looked down, into the bright eyes of his mother, who was sitting in his chair. "Mom," he said with just an air of annoyance, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to give you these," Bernie said, standing up. "You called to tell me you'd be here all night, so I thought I would come by and…"

"Why," Elliot asked, stopping her, "Would I need these right now? What reason could I possibly have for needing these tonight?"

Bernie looked at her son and said, "Right now, Kathy is in a hospital being treated for amphetamine poisoning, and when she realizes what she let you do, and where you have been for the past three days she's going to try everything in her power to get you back, using her being drugged as an excuse. She's going to…"

"Mom," Elliot said, interrupting her again, "You're not really crazy are you?"

Bernie smiled. "Took you long enough, dear," she said, patting his shoulder. "They're both in there, pick one. Just make sure Kathy understands that this is…I'm going to talk to her again, too, though I'm sure she remembers everything I said to her."

"Everything you…Mom, what did you do?" Elliot asked, folding his arms.

"I just told her that she was better off without you, and that you would be happier if you were apart," Bernie said, looking away from him.

Elliot furrowed his brow. "Did you talk about Liv?" he asked, biting his lip.

"I may have mentioned that I like her, I think she's good for you," Bernie said, clasping her hands together. "I never told her that you to were together," she added, holding up a hand.

"Because we weren't!" Elliot cried.

"Which is why I didn't tell her," Bernie said, pointing at him. "I am heading back to the hospital. The kids are with your brother and Valerie. I would pick the one in the red box if I were you," she said, walking out through the doors.

"Red box?" Olivia asked, stepping up behind him.

Elliot turned, surprised, and saw her with her hair up in clip, wearing her jeans and his sweatshirt. He grinned, knowing she had nothing on underneath, and he realized how beautiful she looked. Naturally beautiful.

Before he could explain the box remark, though, someone else came through the doors. "I need to know where we are on this," the man said. "He told you he's been getting his drugs from someone in narcotics, I need a name!" he yelled, looking at Cragen.

"Hey!" Olivia called to him, "Calm down, Ed! We're working on it. None of us have left, or slept, or…"

"Benson," Tucker said softly, his eyes softening as he looked at her. "I, um, I need to be involved in this. If a cop has been…"

"I know," Olivia said, nodding. "When he gives us a name, you'll be the first one I call."

Tucker smiled at him, love and pain flashing in his eyes. He had to take a chance, even if it wouldn't matter. "Yeah," he said. "Hey, uh, the other night…I didn't mean to run out like that. I…could we…"

Olivia's eyes widened. No one except Elliot knew about him, and he didn't know that. "No," she said quickly, shutting him up. "No, we couldn't," she said softer, shaking her head. "I know why you left, and you…you were right."

Tucker gave her a small nod and said, "I thought I might have been. Just taking a shot in the dark." He looked back at Cragen and said, "You keep grilling him until he gives up a name, and then call me. I'm taking Benson…and Stabler down to whatever precinct it is and dragging the hump back here myself."

Cragen nodded at Tucker, then watched him leave. "Benson," he said, turning his head, "Do you have magical calming powers with Tucker, now, too?"

Olivia shook her head, biting her lip, ignoring the question. She looked back to Elliot and nodded at the bag in his hands. "Red box," she said, still chewing on her lip.

Elliot's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, right," he said, opening the bag. He reached in and held the box in his hands. He pulled it out of the paper bag, turned it in his fingers, then looked at Olivia. The phone on his desk rang, saving him from making the choice, and he lifted the receiver off of the cradle. "Stabler," he said. "Yes, she is. Um, actually, we're…well, I can't…I'm in the middle of…" he heaved a heavy sigh. "I'll be right down," he said, dropping the phone.

"What?" Cragen asked, his arms folded.

Elliot put the red box in his pocket. "I have to go down to the hospital. My mother just tried to talk to Kathy, and Kathy punched her. She…she didn't believe her," he said, slightly panicking. "I have to go talk to her and take care of my mom and…I'm sorry." He looked at Olivia as he apologized, as if it meant something more than he was sorry for leaving her there alone with Fin.

"Go," Olivia said with a nod. "Call me," she added with a shrug.

Elliot wanted to kiss her, but with Cragen right there, he couldn't. He simply looked at her and slowly backed out of the room. A few moments later, Olivia's cell phone buzzed. It was a text message from Elliot, a very simple, very firm, "I love you." Followed by a second one. "I'll see you soon."

Olivia sighed as she looked at the phone, snapping it shut and shoving it in her pocket.

"Oh, hey," Cragen said. "This came for you. I read it, because I didn't think it was personal if it was being sent here. You sure you wanna do this?" he asked, handing her a document.

Olivia looked at it, taking it from him. "Yeah," she said, with a sigh. "I have the money, he doesn't. Besides, I'd need to do this eventually."

"For what?" Cragen asked, taking back the signed deed to a townhouse. "He's just your partner, Olivia."

Olivia looked up at Cragen, anger lightly flickering in her eyes. "Cap, never say that to me again," she said backing up slowly. "Make sure that finds its way back to Alex," she said, grabbing her coat. She ran out of the bullpen before Cragen could stop her, hoping when she got to the hospital, Cragen's statement wouldn't be any more true than it was when she heard it.

**A/N: Bernie and Kathy have at it in the next chap! Then Olivia channels a little bit of Serena. How? Why? And the kids reveal their OTHER issues with their mother, while she's in the room. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895: **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©**

Olivia ran into the hospital, looking around. She raised her badge, shouting, "Kathy Stabler!"

The triage nurse pointed, her face still white from the brawl she'd interrupted, and she watched Olivia run.

Olivia pushed the door open, hearing yelling immediately. Elliot, Kathy, and Bernie were all shouting, with Elliot between the women. She couldn't hear anything clearly, until she only heard, at once, Bernie and Kathy shouting, "Shut up, Elliot!"

Elliot stopped talking and his eyes widened. "Fine," he snapped, throwing his hands up. "Kill each other! I don't care! Just don't drag her into this!"

"This is all her fault!" Kathy yelled.

"She didn't drug you," Bernie hissed. "She was there when you were ripping Elliot's heart out, though!"

Elliot backed up. "I'm not listening to this," he mumbled, leaning against the wall, not having noticed Olivia.

"She knows people in narcotics!" Kathy yelled. "She's a cop! She put someone up to this, to get me outta the way so she could..."

"What?" Elliot asked, shouting. "Kathy! Don't you dare..."

Kathy turned to him. "Stay out of this, Elli..." she stopped, her eyes widening. "You," she said, her eyes narrowing.

Elliot turned, and so did his mother, to look at the door. A stunned, shocked, heartbroken Olivia stood with her arms folded. "I...wanted to see if you were okay," she said, looking at Kathy. "Guess you're back to normal," she added, shaking her head. She looked at Elliot, her eyes narrowing.

"Liv," Elliot said, taking a step toward her.

Olivia backed up, away from him. "Maureen called me, since you weren't answering your cell phone," she said. "Your brother's bringing your kids." She turned and left, not sure what was worse: listening to Kathy honestly blame her for everything that had gone wrong in her life, or seeing the pain in Elliot's eyes as she did it.

She made her way out of there, forgetting why she'd gone there to begin with, forgetting she was supposed to prove she wasn't just his partner, forgetting to tell him she bought a house and put his name on it.

She pushed through the front doors and made it to her car, but couldn't bring herself to get in and drive away. If she ran now, she would be just like her mother. She would be admitting that she, too, was terrified of letting herself really feel, scared of getting hurt even though she knew he'd never hurt her. She turned and leaned up against the car, folding her arms. She looked up and said, "I'm nothing like you." She would wait until she was sure Kathy had cooled off, then she'd go back inside. Then she'd tell him everything.

* * *

Back inside, Elliot ran a hand down his face and yelled, "Perfect! Fucking perfect! Do you feel better now, Kath? She heard you! She came to see if you were okay, and you spat in her face! You really think she..."

"No," Kathy said, sighing. "I just...when did this happen, Elliot?" she asked.

"A long time ago," Elliot said, glaring at her. "It just took...my mother of all people to make me realize how serious I was about...shit!" he said, feeling around in his pockets. "Shit!" he repeated, turning and running out the door, hoping to catch Olivia.

Kathy folded her arms and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry I hit you," she said, bitter.

Bernie sighed. "I'm sorry you're socially inept and my son is too good for you," she said.

Kathy's eyes widened and she tilted her head, scoffing.

"And," Bernie continued, "I'm sorry I told you the truth, and I'm sorry you lost him. But I'm not sorry that I am on his side, and I'm not sorry Olivia is in his life."

"What am I supposed to do?" Kathy asked. "Just let him go? I can't remember half of the last four months, and I'm..."

"Yes," Bernie interrupted. "Kathy, you know, the moments you were clearheaded, the few hours a day when you weren't, um, high," she said, making a wild hand gesture, "You knew. You knew he was gone."

Kathy took a breath and nodded. "I was hoping to..."

"Knock, knock," a man's voice said.

Bernie smiled as her youngest son and grandchildren walked into the room. "Charlie," she said, hugging the man. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Is there a reason my brother and some hot chick are making out in the parking lot?"

Bernie chuckled. "That's Olivia," she whispered.

Charlie's eyes widened. He smirked, looking like his brother. "Oh," he said simply, nodding.

"Mom?" Kathleen questioned, looking at her mother.

Kathy tried to smile. "Yes, sweetie?" she asked in return.

Kathleen took a step forward and said, "I think...well, Dad's gone, right? For good? You guys are..."

"Getting a divorce," Bernie said firmly. "Yes, they are, dear," she told her granddaughter.

Kathy glared at her mother-in-law and shook her head, then turned to face her children. "Yes," she said sadly. "We're splitting up," she told them.

Kathleen looked at Maureen, shrugging. "I can't..." she said, backing up.

"Baby," Maureen spat. "What my slightly neurotic sister was trying to say, Mom, is that...if we have to choose, we all kinda wanna live with Dad."

Kathy laughed. A full on, belly laugh. "Of course you do," she chuckled. She wiped her eyes, sniffled, and asked, "Why? You guys know...I was sick, right?"

Dickie nodded. "No offense, Mom, but we're not...I mean, Uncle Chuck told us what the doctors said, and you were only sick for a few months. You've been blaming Dad for things for years." He scratched his head nervously and said, "And this whole thing...with Katie...you blamed Dad. He did what he had to do to get her help, keep her safe. Olivia, too, and you did nothing but yell at him for it."

"We're kinda tired of hearing you badmouth Dad and Liv," Lizzie said, folding her arms. "Do you realize that we would all, each one of us, be in some serious trouble if it wasn't for them?"

Kathleen looked at her grandmother. "I'd still be in jail, or I'd be dead," she said with a sad glance toward the floor.

Maureen put her hands on her hips and said, "If Liv didn't talk me out of it, I would have slept with Jimmy at the prom, and who knows what that would have led to?"

"Why did Liv take me to take my driver's test?" Lizzie asked, shaking her head. "It should have been you."

Dickie, the last to speak, looked at a spot on the wall, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I'm not an easy son to have," he said. "I know that. I'm an attitude problem wrapped up in a hot-headed package, and Dad and I fight about everything. But you have never stepped in, not once, to defend me to him. I'm a teenager, Mom. A teenage boy who likes to push his parents' buttons to see what kind of reaction he's gonna get."

Kathy shook her head. "Dickie, sweetie, I..."

"No, Mom," Dickie interrupted, "You let me and Dad practically kill each other. You let me give him the silent treatment for days at a time, and Olivia...who doesn't have to...has done more for me and Dad than you have." He looked at his mother, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "I love you, Mom, but you're supposed to be the one getting us out of trouble, and talking Dad out of ripping us to shreds, and going to unbelievable lengths to save us."

"Olivia went to see Grandma for me," Kathleen said. "She didn't even know Grandma! She stuck her neck out for me, and for Dad. She was with me in that jail cell, almost the whole time. She was with me when Dad couldn't be, and you...you know, letting them arrest me, giving that lawyer the necklace, that was the best thing he could have done for me. You hated him for it instead of knowing...trusting him."

Kathy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She nodded and said, "I know all of that." She did. She knew she had messed up, but she also knew that he would have, too, if it wasn't for Olivia. She closed her eyes and said, "If he wants you, I won't fight him."

"I want them," Elliot said, moving into the room from the doorway. "Of course I want them," he reiterated. He looked at his kids, their faces bright, and he said, "I didn't know you had so many issues with your mother."

Maureen shrugged. "Now you do," she said.

Elliot shook his head with a small laugh. He slapped his brother on the back, then shook his hand. "Charlie, you remember Olivia, right?" he asked, gesturing to his left.

Charlie nodded. "Detective Benson," he said with a smile. "You look different in jeans."

Olivia smiled taking a breath. She looked at the kids and they all smiled at her as she waved slightly.

Maureen smiled and waved back. She looked toward her grandmother, who winked at her. "So," she said, "Are we gonna come live with you?" she asked, returning her gaze to her father.

Elliot scratched his head. "Uh, well, when I get a place that's big enough..."

"Oh!" Olivia said, turning to him. "Yeah," she said, nodding. "You have one."

"I...what?" Elliot asked, squinting at her.

Olivia bit her bottom lip and said, "I bought a house." She watched his eyes widen and she cringed a bit as she said, "I had to put your name on the mortgage, credit ratings and...I didn't think you'd mind."

"You...bought a house...for...us?" he asked, surprised, excited, and thinking that it couldn't have happened at a better time.

"Think of it as a present from my mother," Olivia said, chuckling.

"You put my name on your...so, we own it," Elliot said, waving a hand between them. "You and me," he clarified.

Olivia let her smile fade. "I can call them, if you don't..."

Elliot kissed her quickly, a small peck, silencing her. He looked at her and smiled, and said, "We're gonna need new furniture."

Bernie, butting in as she was one to do, said, "I have your grandmother's bedroom set. You can have that."

Kathy's head snapped to Bernie. "I loved that set, you wouldn't give it to us when we got married!"

Bernie smirked and folded her arms. "My mother was nothing if not specific. That bedroom set is to be kept in the family. I never saw you as family, Kathy. You were always...temporary."

All eyes were on Bernie, Elliot even looked offended. "Mom!" he yelled, shocked.

"Oh, dear," Bernie said, looking down at a watch she wasn't wearing, "Look at the time. I have to take my pill."

Elliot watched his mother walk out of the room and he laughed out loud. He knew there were never any pills, at least not for any reason other than keeping her emotions in check, and he was finally learning to love his mother for who she was. He would tell her, when he picked up the furniture, that she didn't need to apologize for who she was anymore, she didn't have to pretend.

Bernie, however, had something else in mind to talk to him about. Something that, she hoped, would change his life, yet again, for the better.

**A/N: What does she talk to him about now? Did Elliot give Olivia the red box? Not yet. What happens when he does? And they find the narcotics detective, and Ed uses the investigation to score some alone time with Olivia. What will Elliot have to say about it? He starts to sound a little like his father, and his mother. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: What does she talk to him about now? Did Elliot give Olivia the red box? Not yet. What happens when he does? Ed uses the investigation to score some alone time with Olivia, but fails. What will Elliot have to say about it? He starts to sound a little like his father, and his mother.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©**

"What do you want, Mom?" Elliot asked, walking into her living room. He inhaled, noticing that it still smelled like cloves and cinnamon. It had for as long as he could remember, she was always baking something. "You called me out here, I had to leave Liv with Fin, and you know how much I hate that."

Bernie smirked at him. "Yes, dear," she said, handing him some coffee. "That's exactly why I wanted to talk to you."

"Because I don't trust Fin?" Elliot asked, sipping the flavored coffee.

Bernie laughed. "No, Elliot," she said. "The reason you hate leaving Olivia. I noticed, as we left the hospital the other day, that you haven't given her that ring yet."

Elliot sighed. "Mom, it's way too soon to give her something like that. Especially since…Olivia doesn't do well with commitment, and she gets freaked out when things get too serious. She…" He paused, trying to find the words. "She loves me, I know she does, but we need time. She needs time, and I have to get the kids settled, make them understand that their mother isn't a horrible woman like they thought…"

"Why?" Bernie asked, interrupting. "They should think so." She sipped her coffee and looked seriously at her son.

"Mom," Elliot began, leaning forward, "What do you have against her? Where's all this resentment coming from?"

Bernie shook her head and tilted it, looking warmly at him. "Honey, she trapped you. She got pregnant on purpose, and she trapped you. I know you don't believe that but…"

"I don't," Elliot said, nodding. "You're right."

"Elliot, a mother knows. Trust me," Bernie said. "She did whatever she could to keep you, and she controlled you for years, you know she did. For most of the years you were with her you were miserable, you had an attitude, you were bitter and cold. It wasn't until that partner of yours walked into your life that I started to see you smile again."

Elliot froze. Had he been that transparent? He cleared his throat and said a curt, "So?"

"So?" Bernie repeated, her eyes wide. "You don't think it's funny that your wife of almost nineteen years can't get you to smile, but someone you had only known for a week did? You don't think it's odd that you couldn't bring yourself to tell Kathy about those nightmares you were having, but in your first stakeout with Olivia, the whole story came pouring out of your mouth? You don't think…"

"Okay!" Elliot snapped. "I get it! I was a shitty husband and I have an incredible, intense, unbreakable connection to my fiancée. Are you going somewhere with this?"

"You just went there for me," Bernie said with a smirk. "Go over what you just said in your head, and gasp audibly when you realize what you just said."

Elliot furrowed his brow, then one eyebrow shot up. He looked pensive for a moment, and then both brows rose high and he gasped.

"Figured it out, have you?" Bernie asked, chuckling to herself as she sipped her coffee.

Elliot nodded. "Why did I say that?" he asked himself softly.

Bernie rested a hand on his knee. "You want it," she said. "You've wanted it for years, and you couldn't do anything about it until now. I know you want to take things slow for her, but Elliot, think of yourself, too. You haven't done that in such a long time."

Elliot bit his lip. "What if I scare her?" he asked, his voice breaking. "You're right, Mom. You're…you're always right," he said, shaking his head. "I want her, and I want to be the one she ends up with, and I know if that ring's on her finger she'll never take it off, but…what if I push her too far too fast? What if…"

"You sound like your father," Bernie told him, sighing.

"Dad was a bastard," Elliot said. "How do I sound anything like him right now?"

Bernie looked her son in the eyes and said, "He had his moments. He was always wondering so much about the 'what-ifs' and the 'coulda-woulda-shouldas.' He never relaxed enough to enjoy the things that were really happening, the people he really had in life. You get so mixed up worrying about things, and being afraid of the bad things in life, that you miss out on the good."

Elliot tilted his head and said, "You and Liv have a lot common."

"We know you better than you know yourself, and we love you unconditionally," Bernie said, reading his mind. "Why on Earth do you think I like her so much, sweetheart?" she asked, sipping her coffee. "You finally found someone who is absolutely worthy of you, who deserves you, and whom you deserve. You have my blessing, I give my approval, now go give her that ring."

Elliot tried to interrupt her. "But Mom, I…"

"She knows your Social Security Number, your ATM pin, the password to every computer account you have, and she has never used any of them without your consent. You wouldn't even tell Kathy the combination to your locker in high school."

Elliot chuckled. "You have a point. Trust her. I trust her, and she won't run. Is that what you're saying?"

"No, I'm saying if you don't marry her and you break up, you're gonna have to change an awful lot of passwords," Bernie joked.

Elliot laughed and kissed his mother on the cheek. "I love you, Mom," he said. "I really do."

"I love you, too, dear," Bernie replied. "Why do you think I'm doing all of this?" she shrugged.

Elliot smiled at her and waved as he left, heading back to the station, thinking of how, exactly, he would slip the ring on her finger, and what he would have to tell her when he did it.

* * *

"Will you stop that?" Olivia chided, watching Elliot pace back and forth in front of her.

"I can't help it," he told her. "I have a lot of nervous energy right now, and when Fin gets back with Tucker I…"

"You will do nothing," Olivia said, pointing to him. "This was not Fin's fault. We were chasing different people. It's just a cut, Elliot. A couple of stitches."

Elliot turned and looked down at her as she sat behind her desk. "Stitches you wouldn't have gotten if I was with you. He shouldn't have taken off like that," he said, angry.

Olivia sighed. "I told him to, because there were three of them and two of us, and we needed to take them down. You would have done the same thing."

"I was talking about Tucker! I had to go deal with my mom, so he took you, without me," Elliot spat. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? God, Liv, he just wanted you alone! And when Fin showed up..."

"Elliot, calm down," Olivia scolded. "Yeah, Ed may have wanted..."

"Stop calling him that," Elliot interrupted, demanding.

Olivia pressed her lips together for a moment. "That's his name," she said with a shrug.

"You didn't call him that before," Elliot said, turning back to her. "You started calling him that when you started..."

"It's his name, El," Olivia cut in again. "You have to get over this, all right? You know nothing could possibly happen between me and him, not again," she said, sounding annoyed. Then she smirked. "You're cute when you're jealous."

Elliot ran a hand down his face. "How's your hand?" he asked. He turned around and looked her in the eyes and said, "I promise you, if I was there, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Olivia scrunched her face a bit, in confusion. He was acting so odd. "Okay," she said, not wanting to argue anymore. "Whatever you say," she finished.

"God, I can't…" Elliot paused and pulled Olivia out of her chair. "Come with me," he said, leading her out of the squadroom, into the hallway. He dragged her up the stairs and led her out onto the roof.

"The roof," she hissed. "You only wanna go up to the roof when it's…"

"This is important," he said, taking her toward the edge. "I know this has happened…fast. Out of nowhere, and I get that you're probably still trying to get used to me...us…"

Olivia reached out for him, ignoring the bandage on her hand, and said, "I'm used to it." She looked into his eyes and said, "Kissing you, being with you like this, if I ever have to live without you again…El, I don't think I can do that."

"You mean that?" Elliot asked, hopeful.

Olivia nodded. "I've been waiting for you for a long time," she said. "Who would have thought your mother would be the one to push us together?"

Elliot smiled and said, "She was just doing her job." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little, red box that had been with him for days. He took a breath as he popped it open and turned it toward her. "I'm not asking," he said. "But I want you to know that I want to, and I will, when I think the time is right. This…this means I'm yours. You're mine. And once you put this on, it's a done deal. My mother had some crazy dreams, Liv, but I can't say I haven't had the same ones."

"It's beautiful," Olivia whispered looking down at the purple and blue clusters of stones, her fingers tracing the band as he lifted the ring out of the box and held it out to her. "Incredibly beautiful," she said.

Elliot looked at it for a moment, then looked back up at her. "I'm not gonna put this on your finger if you're not…"

Olivia held out her hand, looking into his eyes, telling him she was whatever he needed her to be, then. "I love you," she whispered, feeling the metal slide onto her finger. She wasn't sure what it meant, only that she was ready to wear it, and she had to thank Bernie for picking out such a beautiful and delicate ring.

"I love you, too, Liv," Elliot said. He bent his head to kiss her, smiling against her lips as he held her close. "More than you know. I think…I think we were meant to be here, like this, you and me."

Olivia nodded at him, then she furrowed her brow as her phone rang. She looked very confused as "I'm Too Sexy" filtered through the air. "Um…do you have your phone?" she asked.

Elliot furrowed his brow as he felt around his jacket pockets. "Shit, no, why?"

"Benson," Olivia said, answering her phone. "Oh, wow, uh, yeah…I'll…I'll tell him. Thanks." She looked up at him and said, "You left your phone at your mother's."

Elliot smirked. "So that's my ringtone?" he asked, chuckling.

"What can I say?" she shrugged. "Even my phone thinks you're sexy. And it thinks you have an ego," she teased. She kissed him and took his hand, leading him back down into the station, hoping the rest of their night would be easy, and hoping that the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach would go away.

It would, but only after a nice chat. With her mother.

**A/N: How does Olivia talk to her mother? When the kids move in, what do they say about their mother that comes as a shock to Olivia and Elliot? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: How does Olivia talk to her mother? When the kids move in, what do they say about their mother that comes as a shock to Olivia and Elliot?**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©**

Olivia awoke with a start, her nightmare vivid and replaying in her mind as she tried to calm her breathing. She looked over at Elliot, and sighed when she found him sleeping soundly, his arm draped over her waist like a protective belt, and she was relieved she hadn't woken him the way she usually did when she got up at night.

Usually.

That word frightened her as she thought it. This was not "usual" and it was not "normal." Not for her. She was sleeping with a man she loved very much, but hadn't had the opportunity or conviction to get completely intimate with him. He gave her a ring, a beautiful ring, and though he didn't ask the question, she gave him an answer.

She was scared, afraid of hurting him or getting hurt by him, and she was afraid of losing him if she let herself go too far. She took another deep breath, slid Elliot's arm away from her, and climbed off of the bed. She walked over to the glass doors, slid them opened, and walked out onto the balcony of their new bedroom.

She looked up and sighed again. "You're there, somewhere, aren't you?" she asked softly. "I blame you for my fear of commitment, my fear of being loved, because you made it so hard for me to believe I was worth being loved." She shook her head and chuckled, "I blame myself for blaming you, because I have not been able to get over it, and I'm stronger than that. Smarter than that. You tried so hard to make me weak, dependent, miserable, and pathetic, but you failed."

She wasn't aware that Elliot had gotten up and walked over to the door, and was staring, listening. She folded her arms and said, "I love him, Mom. So much. I wish you could be here to see how much he loves me, too, so you could finally realize that I'm not the mistake you thought I was. I'm not." She sniffled. "I'm not gonna make your mistake, Mom. I'm gonna let him love me, and love him back, and live my life the way I know I deserve to, without you."

"Liv," Elliot called to her softly. "Baby, you okay?" he asked, stepping toward her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Better than ever," she whispered, turning into him. She kissed his chest lightly and held him close.

Elliot kissed her forehead and hummed, then said, "You had another nightmare."

Olivia nodded. "It wasn't about my mother, though," she said. "It was about you. I couldn't let go, and just let this happen, and you got mad, God, you were so angry. You left…"

"Never gonna happen," he interrupted. "I know this is hard, and scary, for both of us, baby. We're taking an awful lot of risks here. But we can do this, we can make this work. If we don't, we'd never survive."

"I know," Olivia whispered. "That's why I…"

"I heard you," he said with a smile. "I just wish you had the balls to talk to her like that when she was still alive."

Olivia chuckled. "Me, too," she said. She looked up at him and asked, "Are you tired?"

"Not really," he said with a shrug. "I'm actually wide awake now."

"I love you," she told him, her eyes dark and serious.

Elliot kissed her sweetly and said, "I love you, too, baby."

Olivia pulled away from his kiss, slid her hands from around his back to the front of his waist, and then slipped them into his hands. She looked into his eyes as she turned her body and pulled him back into the room. She kept her eyes fixed on his, guided him toward the bed, and pulled him down as she laid back.

Elliot was sure he knew what was happening, but he didn't want to rush things with her. "Honey, what…"

Olivia silenced him with a kiss. She wrapped one arm around his neck, moving the other to his flannel pants. She gave them a gentle tug, and that answered his unasked question.

He moaned into her mouth and slowly slid his hands up her shirt as she pulled his pants down. He pulled away from her to take it off, and he looked down at her. "You're…"

She pulled him down again, cutting off his words with a kiss. She used her feet to get his pants off the rest of the way, and she moaned lightly when Elliot tugged at her own bottoms.

They had toyed with and teased each other, they'd used their hands, feeling and memorizing one another, their lips and kissed and licked and sucked every inch of each other's body, but this was it. The biggest step they'd take in their still-new relationship.

He pulled away from her again, listening to her groan of protest, and he chuckled as he pulled off her pants.

Naked before him, she looked into his eyes and smiled. She gave him a small nod as he smiled back, and he hovered over her, dropping his head to kiss her as his hand found her freshly waxed, he noticed, mound.

He grazed his fingers over her sensitive flesh, he slipped one finger in, out, and up, teasing, readying her, and he deepened the kiss to quiet their mutual moans. He inserted another finger, twisting and teasing, stretching her a bit, knowing how tight his fingers usually felt inside of her and preparing her for a much larger intruder.

Olivia moaned and gripped him tight; she cried his name against his lips and silently begged him to stop teasing her. "I love you," she whispered with a soft groan.

He moved his hand, and unable to help himself, he licked his fingers clean as he slid just slightly to the right. "I love you, Liv," he said, looking into her eyes.

They focused only on each other's eyes as he pushed into her for the first time, and a deep, low, sound was pulled from his very soul as he inched further and further inside of her.

A similar but higher moan was coming from her, her fingers digging into his back as her eyes widened and watered. "Oh, God," she gasped lightly.

He dropped his head, kissing her slowly as he moved languidly and deeply, rocking into her in an easy, loving rhythm. He slid his hand down her body, grabbing her leg, and he bent and lifted it just slightly as he leaned back a bit.

Their groans got louder, their prayers and murmurs of each other's name were more frequent now, and Elliot moved faster. Olivia held him tighter as she met every, single thrust with her own body, wracked with both pressure and pleasure. He moved harder, skin slapped against skin, and their cries were more feral now.

"Liv," he panted, over and over again, trying not to say the words that were really on his mind. He wanted this to be purely romantic, special, loving. He would wait to let the curses fly, he didn't want to upset her right now, or make her think he didn't think this was serious. "God, Liv, baby," he groaned as his eyes rolled and his head fell forward.

"Oh, my God, Elliot," Olivia cried, sounding almost whining, as if in pain. She was not in pain though. If anything, this was taking her pain away, solidifying her belief that this was right. "El," she moaned, right into his ear.

He grunted and mumbled, "Liv, I can't…"

"Oh, El," she cried over him, clearly uninterested in whatever complaint or protest he was going to make. Her nails sunk into his flesh and she clamped hard around him, her body tensed and burned, and she saw stars as she closed her eyes. Her head bent back and her back arched and with three more of his powerful thrusts, she was gone. "Oh, God, El," she yelled, her body giving into him.

Elliot lasted for three more hard thrusts, difficult as it was to get out and back in through her clenched walls, and he spilled into her hotly and eagerly. "Hmmm, baby," he spat in a grunt as he bit his lip, never having felt that amazing before.

He stilled inside of her, collapsed over lightly, dropping his forehead to hers, and he kissed her as he tried to catch his breath. Several, frantic, almost panicked kissed from him to her, and one slow one right on her lips.

"El, baby, that was…that was phenomenal," she said with a small chuckle.

Elliot laughed a bit, too, as he kissed her yet again. "That's not a strong enough word, baby," he whispered. He managed to find the strength to roll them over, staying inside of her, and held her close as he brushed her hair back over and over again. "God damn, Liv," he said with a grunt, closing his eyes.

Olivia let her eyes close, too, and she said, "Yeah. I know."

He kissed her forehead once, her lips twice, and pressed his forehead to hers. They fell asleep like that, a tangled mess of sweaty limbs, wrapped up in one another with comfortable, content smiles on their faces. Olivia knew, as she drifted away, that there was no need to worry about nightmares anymore.

* * *

"Dad!" Dickie yelled, bursting through the doors. "Dad!" he called again.

Elliot ran in from the kitchen, dodging boxes that he and Olivia still hadn't unpacked. "What?" he yelled. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Dickie said. He dragged his bags into the furnitureless living room and said, "Maureen needs help with her stuff."

Elliot sighed and put a hand over his heart. "Never yell like that again," he said, "Unless someone's bleeding, dying, or both!"

Dickie laughed. "Sorry," he said, lifting one of his bags and climbing the stairs.

Elliot walked out into the breezy afternoon, grabbed Maureen's stuff, and smiled at Olivia as she got out of the car. He walked over to her and kissed her softly, looked into her eyes, and said, "I missed you."

Olivia chuckled. "I was gone for an hour," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Too long," Elliot said, shaking his head. He smirked and kissed her again, then led her and his daughters into the house.

Lizzie gasped when she walked in. "Dad, this place is huge!" she cried.

"Yeah," Elliot said, dragging the excessively heavy luggage into the room. "Thank Liv for that, I didn't see it before she bought it."

Maureen turned around and folded her arms. "I bet Mom is really gonna be jealous," she said. "There was barely enough room for us in the old house, I don't know where she's gonna put a nursery."

Elliot choked. "What?" he asked, shocked.

Lizzie bit her lip. "Mom…uh, she's pregnant."

Olivia looked at Elliot, who looked sick. "It's not mine," he said. He turned to Olivia and shook his head. "Liv, there's no way it's…"

"I know it's not," Olivia said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You should go talk to her, though. She was so desperate to hang onto you, she was drugged up, El, she could have been…"

"Yeah," he agreed. "I'll go talk to her after we get the kids settled. And you're coming with me." He kissed her, ignoring the look of protest on her face.

She folded her arms and watched him climb the stairs. She didn't have issues with her own mother anymore, but she certainly had issues with another mother.

**A/N: Kathy's having a baby? Whose? And a trip to buy furniture turns into so much more! Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Kathy's having a baby? Whose? And a trip to buy furniture turns into so much more!**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©**

"Elliot?" Kathy asked, opening her front door. "What are you…oh," she said, her tone changing. "You brought her."

Elliot scoffed. "Of course, I did," he said. "We need to talk."

"Without her," Kathy said, her eyes narrowing.

"Not a chance," Elliot argued. "Anything you tell me can be said in front of Liv." He stepped into the living room, looking around, trying to get at least one happy memory or feeling from the place. He shrugged, giving up, and said, "Uh, I hear congratulations are in order."

"Which is exactly why you should leave her, bring the kids back, and come home, Elliot," Kathy said, her voice desperate.

Elliot sat on the couch, looking at Olivia, who chose to stand by the door. He furrowed his brow at her, but then turned to Kathy. "You know that baby isn't mine," he said. "There's no way it could be, Kathy. I need to ask you a few questions…"

"It is," Kathy interrupted, her eyes wide. "I would never cheat on you, Elliot! This has to be your…" she stopped as she watched Elliot slowly shaking his head.

Elliot sighed and leaned forward. "Were you with anyone, Kathy? I can't blame you if you were," he said, pressing his lips together.

Kathy blinked. "I guess no matter what I say, it won't change anything," she said, looking at him. "You'll still be with her."

Elliot let out a quick, frustrated noise. "Leave Liv out of this. Focus," he scolded. "Do you know who the father is, Kathy? If you don't remember having…"

"Yes," Kathy answered resignedly, her eyes closed. "I remember being with him, I remember wanting to, but I don't…I was drugged, Elliot. I never would have…you have to believe me."

"I believe you," he said, nodding and trying to give her a reassuring smile. "Drugs make people do crazy things, and you suffered a psychotic break, Kathy. I have no doubts that you weren't exactly yourself. It's not your fault. But I need to ask…because he might be involved…who…"

"He isn't involved," Kathy said, yet again not allowing Elliot to finish speaking. "He was actually very much against sleeping with me, but I guess I convinced him somehow."

"Kathy, honestly, I don't care," he said. "Stop trying to convince me you're innocent, I don't feel like you did anything wrong, just tell me who it is," he told her, his temper flashing only slightly.

Kathy heaved another sigh. "Alan," she said.

Elliot's face paled. "Are you…please, tell me you're not serious."

Kathy bit her lip. "I told you he didn't…he protested, El, he tried to get me to change my mind, but you know that when I want something I can be very persuasive." She sniffed and folded her hands over her belly. "He kept me company, he was sweet, and maybe I wasn't drugged for some of it, but I never meant to hurt you. When I got out of the hospital, I remembered everything. Elliot, I swear I thought he was you half the time. The other times, I was just trying to get even with you, and I was just so…"

"Yeah," Elliot said, cutting her off now. "I know what those drugs do to you. And I know you thought I was cheating on you, but, fuck, Kathy, Alan? I've known him since I was five, he's like a brother to me, he's our son's football coach for Christ's sake!"

"I told you I…" Kathy began, but she stopped. "He wants to be here, he wants to have this baby, and he wants me."

Elliot nodded. "Good, I'd kill him if he didn't. What do you want?" he asked.

"You," Kathy sobbed. "I screwed up, I know that, but I can't…Elliot, you are all I've ever known. You're the only man who's ever been…"

"Things change, people change," Elliot said to her. "I will always love you, for my kids and for the few happy years we did have, but…that's it. I'm not the same guy I was in high school, Kathy. And you aren't the same woman." He saw the pain in her eyes. "You heard it from my mother, you heard it from the kids, now you're hearing it from me. It's really over."

"I guess I always knew that this wasn't going to be forever," Kathy said with a small chuckle. "I just always hoped I was wrong."

"Alan's a good guy," Elliot said. "Let him in, and maybe you'll fall in love with him. If nothing else, this kid is gonna have a very supportive father."

Kathy nodded. "Thank you," she said softly.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"Not hating me," Kathy said, looking up at him.

He smiled. "I can't hate you," he said. "We have kids, we have to deal with each other, and whether you believe it or not, I really was madly in love with you, once, Kathy Malone."

"I've been replaced now, though," Kathy spat, sending Olivia a harsh glare.

"No," Elliot said. "You and I ended, Liv and I began. She isn't replacing you, she's picking up where you left off. And picking up the pieces. And making me whole again, because I haven't been for so damn long, and you know that."

Kathy nodded. "I do," she said begrudgingly. "Before, you said that if I didn't remember…what did that mean?"

Elliot blinked. "Drugs, they screw with your memory, your senses. You could have been unconscious or immobile. Kathy, you might not have known that someone was…"

"Oh," Kathy said, her eyes widening. "Yeah, well, No…no…I wasn't…that."

Olivia bit her bottom lip. For someone who spent a long time married to a Special Victims Detective, Kathy had a problem talking about certain things. Maybe that's why Elliot never talked to her about work. He knew she couldn't deal with it.

Elliot saw Olivia's expression and said, "We have to go." He walked over and deliberately took her hand in his. "Kathy, if you need anything…"

"I'll call Alan," she said, smiling. She walked them to the door and watched them leave, get into their car, and she sighed. She was hoping lying about her affair would make her feel better, but seeing that he didn't care either way made her feel worse.

* * *

After a quiet drive back into the city, Elliot parked the car in a public lot, and opened Olivia's door. He took her hand and chuckled as she rolled her eyes, clearly not used to him doing that for her. "We're not at work," he reminded her. "I can do this here," he said, winking.

"I know that, I just…I still feel kind of awkward about all of this. You and me, holding hands and kissing in public," she replied. "Especially since we're using the sedan," she laughed.

Elliot kissed her and said, "Just because we're not at work, doesn't mean the precinct shouldn't pay for our gas and mileage on our day off." He laughed with her and guided her toward his destination, a furniture store on Fifth Avenue. They pushed through the doors, and were immediately met by a cheerful salesman.

"Hello, there," the man said with a bright smile. "What a handsome couple! Tell me, what can I help you find today?"

"He's just a little happy," Olivia mumbled into Elliot's ear.

"We're just looking, thanks," Elliot said, suppressing his chuckle. He watched the man frown, walk away bitterly, then laughed as he led Olivia over to the seating. "We need a couch, a couple of chairs," he said.

"Four beds," Olivia added, "Table. Ya know, things I couldn't take with me and things your wife kept."

"Ex-wife, thank you," Elliot teased. "And I think we should…" He was interrupted by his ringing cell phone. He fished it out of his pocket and looked down, then flipped it open. "Hey, Mom," he said, raising an eyebrow at Olivia. "Uh, I did, yes. She…cried. Yes, happy tears, Ma. What? What do you mean don't get…how did you even know we were buying…Mom! Stop!"

"El," Olivia hissed, looking around at the people who were starting to stare.

Elliot lowered his voice and said, "Will you stop following me? I'm a grown man, Mom, I don't need my mother to…well, yeah, I kinda did need you to do that and…okay, so I'm glad you butted in then, too, but…you haven't been wrong. No." He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I love you, too, Mom. Bye." He snapped his phone shut and looked at Olivia.

"Lemme guess," she said, "She wants to start naming our children and she picked out a wedding dress for me, she wants to really push us too far too fast."

"No," Elliot said, biting his lip. "She told us not to get leather because in the summer it'll make us sweaty and we'll stick to it, and in the winter it will be freezing and we son't be able to sit down. Then she said she doesn't want the couch to be too comfortable. She wants to make sure I have a reason not to fuck up badly enough to sleep on the couch, and if I do, she wants me to suffer."

Olivia laughed and dropped her head to Elliot's shoulder. "We'll compromise. We fall asleep on the couch, together, almost every night," she said. "That's a hell of a reason to get a very comfortable one." She kissed him and said, "And if you ever fuck up, you can sleep outside in the car. The Civic, not the Escalade. You will suffer, Stabler."

Elliot chuckled. "I love you, baby," he murmured against her lips, kissing her again.

"I love you, too," she returned with a smile. She took his hand and they moved through the aisles, sitting down, bouncing, lying down, crushing, and pushing on couches.

Finally they eased into a large, plush, grey and white sofa. The moans from both of them were loud as they sunk into the cushy seats. "Wow," he said, closing his eyes.

Olivia picked up the information tag. "Double recliner, massage feature, stain resistant, hidden remote caddy, and it comes in fourteen different colors. I think we need this couch," she said, feeling his arm wrap around her. Then she gasped, "El, holy shit!"

Elliot, concerned, opened his eyes and looked at her. "What?" she asked.

She turned the tag her hands to face him. "Look at the style name and number," she said.

"We are sitting on…" he said, trying to find the name. "The Serena," he said, his eyes widening. "Style number…that's my badge number."

Olivia nodded. "You think…I mean, I don't believe in signs but…"

"Hey, you told her you wanted her to see how much I love you," he said. "Maybe she does. Maybe this is her way of saying she knows, and she's happy, and she wants you to be happy." He kissed her, slow and soft, then said, "And she wants you to buy this couch."

Olivia laughed. "Well, it's her money, so…" she stopped, looking up at him. She rolled her eyes and groaned. "God damn it, Mom," she hissed, her head falling back into the incredibly soft pillow behind her.

"What?" Elliot asked. "Baby, what are you…"

"She's telling me that she was right," she said, gesturing wildly with her hands. "I told her…a long time ago, when I first started at the unit, that I had a thing for you. She told me one day we'd end up married, and I laughed in her face."

"When was this?" he asked, screwing his face up in confusion.

"God, I think I'd only known you for a month," she laughed. She ran a hand through her hair and said, "She told me that if you ever asked me to marry you, she'd pay for the wedding because she wanted to gloat about being right. I told her she was crazy, and she, being drunk as a fucking skunk, promised me that she would do it. I got upset, naturally, talking about a wedding that would never happen, and because I didn't believe she would ever do anything like that for me."

"What did you do?" Elliot asked, intrigued.

"I told her if you ever asked me to marry you, I'd pay for the wedding myself," she said, blinking. "Because obviously I would have also won the lottery, became Queen of Everything, and lived in alternate universe, so I'd pay for it. She looked me right in the eyes and said, and I quote, 'You will pay for it yourself over my dead body," she said. "She's probably up there with this huge fucking smirk on her face, laughing and saying, 'I told you so."

Elliot laughed. "You might reading too much into..."

"I was with Andy for two years, with Dean for a year, I was with Ed for a while," she said. "I didn't find out about this money, or this stipulation about needing to pay for my wedding until you."

Elliot kissed her and said, "So she was right." He kissed her again and whispered, "Mothers usually are. Mine hasn't been wrong yet, as she so nicely reminded me."

Olivia chuckled. "Mine was always wrong," she said with a sigh. "I completely forgot about that conversation, because I thought it was just another empty, drunken promise that she would just end up breaking."

"Ya know, baby, it's about time she kept a promise," he said. "She's apologizing."

"Not yet she isn't," Olivia said, smirking. "You haven't asked me to marry you."

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Are you really gonna go there, Benson?" he asked, leaning closer to her.

"Went there," she said, leaning closer to him as well. Their lips met, his arms wrapped around her, and they were lost in the moment, on the most comfortable couch they'd ever sat on.

It wasn't until the formerly cheery salesman walked over and cleared his throat that they broke apart. "Excuse me," he said. "It's clear to everyone in the building that you two love each other very much, but unless you plan on purchasing it, I would ask you to stop proving it on that couch."

Olivia chuckled and stood up, missing the comfort of the couch and Elliot almost instantly. "We're buying the couch," she said.

And just like that, the chipper and annoyingly happy man returned with a bright smile. "Wonderful! I will go get you a sales slip, and please, feel free to browse. We have a wide selection of beds right over there," he said with a wink. Then he hopped away with a giggle.

"Liv," Elliot said, taking her hand, swiping his thumb over the purple jewel on her finger, "One day, I will…"

She stopped him with a kiss. His promise was enough, and letting go of her past, with the help of her mother and his, only made her more ready and willing to wait for him. Because, after all, now they were waiting together.

**A/N: They have the couch, and some other things, delivered. But something that they did not buy, or even see in the store, gets delivered, too. What is it? What will it have to do with Elliot's mother? Next! Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: "A mother's advice is at first mere suggestion, but will always end with her voice calling out 'I told you so' unless the daughter listens. This is something one rarely figures out until they, too, are a mother." **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler© **

"No, not over there...against the wall," Olivia said pointing at the spot where she wanted the couch to go.

The delivery men rolled their eyes, but they moved it anyway. They'd been in and out of the house several times, and were getting annoyed with the two demanding people ordering them around, but since they were cops, the men resigned themselves to listen.

Elliot walked into the living room, wrapped his arms around Olivia, and he sighed happily. "Looks like a home," he said. He heard her laugh and as she turned her head over her shoulder to see him, he kissed her. They were lost in the moment, oblivious to the men leaving, but when they heard the door open again, they separated. Elliot tilted his head as the men brought in another item.

"Guys," Olivia said, worming out of Elliot's grasp, "We only had the beds and living room set, the table and chairs. You got everything. That's not ours."

One of the delivery men looked at his clipboard, checked the box label, and then looked up at her. "Got your name and address on it, lady," he said with a shrug. "Some assembly required, but it ain't our job, thank the Lord," he laughed. "Sign here, please?" he griped, handing Elliot the clipboard.

Elliot took it, raised an eyebrow, and signed the slip. He handed the board and pen back to the man and watched as the workers left.

Olivia walked over and ripped open the top of the box, and as she picked up the instructions, she gasped. "El," she said, "It's a crib."

"What?" he yelled, ripping the papers out of her hands. He ran a hand through his hair as he read the directions. "I didn't…we didn't…why would we have…"

"I was there," Olivia interrupted. "I know we didn't order it." She looked at the box, examining it from all sides as only a detective would, raised an eyebrow, and plucked a card off of the side. "El," she said, getting his attention. She opened the envelope and read, then she rolled her eyes and let out a disbelieving laugh.

Elliot walked over to her, standing behind her, and asked, "What?"

"It's from your mother," she said. She handed him the envelope and raised an eyebrow. "The card says, 'Get a move on.' I think she's trying to tell us something."

"That she's fucking nuts," Elliot scoffed, turning the card over in his hands. He sighed and looked at Olivia. "She's pushing this, and this time she's gone too fucking far, Liv."

"Calm down," Olivia said, resting a hand on his chest. "Breathe, baby," she told him, watching the red fade from his face as she looked into his eyes. "She's just excited to see you finally happy, and she wants you to have everything she knows that you deserve."

"I get that," he sighed, "But, baby, I wish she would let me do it all when I'm damn good and ready. She's gonna scare you off and I don't…"

"With what I do for a living, you think your mother's gonna scare me?" she cut in, folding her arms.

He looked at her, tilted his head, and said, "She's throwing us into talking about marriage and kids. Two things that have always made you run," he said.

"Until you," she reminded him. "I ran because I wasn't with the right person. Now I am." She saw the look on his face and held up a hand. "I'm not saying let's go get married and start knocking out babies," she said with a laugh.

He laughed and dropped his forehead to hers. "I know you're not," he whispered. "I wanna take my time with you. Woo you."

"Did you just…you just used the word 'woo,' didn't you?" she asked, smirking as she peered into his eyes.

He chuckled. "Yep," he said, kissing her. His arms wrapped tighter around her waist. He sighed and closed his eyes, kissed her again, and said, "I don't wanna rush this, baby. I rushed into one marriage and it fell apart. I don't want to take any chances with you. I'm avoiding anything that might mess this up, or hurt you."

She looked into his eyes, dumbfounded. She had no words that seemed good enough for a response. "Put it in the attic," she said, kissing him, referring to the crib in the box. "We'll need it eventually, right?" she asked, still whispering.

"Yeah," he said, nothing but a soft breath.

Her arms wound around his neck and she tugged him closer, pressing her lips to his again. They were involved in a deep kiss, nothing else existed, not even the four teenagers on the stairs, watching and smirking.

"They look happy," Maureen said, her head tilted to the left and a small grin on her face.

Kathleen hummed. "I think they are happy, Mo," she said. "I'm happy for them. I mean, after what Liv did for me…for us…how can I not think of her as more than just a family friend? She's treated me like a daughter since I met her. All of us, really, and…"

"She's gonna be a good mother," Lizzie interrupted. "Despite what she thinks."

Dickie looked at his twin and asked, "What does that mean?" He folded his arms and asked, "How do you know what she thinks? You don't think she thinks she's gonna be a good mother?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and looked over at her brother. "Liv has mother issues," she said. "You know that, we all know that. No matter how much she wants kids, a part of her is always gonna harbor a fear of passing down a lot of hostility, some unknown illness or disease, and she's afraid she's gonna end up like her mother, whether or not she means to, ya know? Kind of how Katie's sick like Grandma."

Kathleen scoffed. "Thanks," she huffed.

Lizzie defended herself. "I'm just saying…"

"I know what you're saying," Kathleen interrupted, shaking her head. "That's not gonna happen. If it was, she wouldn't be who she is, would she? She would already be violent and she isn't."

Maureen squinted her eyes. "She is," she said. "She just focuses it. She uses the violent tendencies she has to fight the bad guys, because she knows from experience what kind of damage they can do. She gets all of her anger and frustration out at work, and she's left with the kind and loving person beneath it all when she comes home. Like dad does."

"Uh, Dad can be a bit of an ass at home, too," Dickie countered.

Kathleen rolled her eyes and said, "Only with you, because you're his clone. Dickie, you gotta give him a break. You push his buttons, on purpose, and you make him crazy. Or, you used to because Mom wouldn't do a damned thing to stop it. We've got Liv now, who won't put up with it. She's pretty scary, too, and she's gonna keep the both of you in check. I think the evil, green, monster side of Dad is gone for good. At least, it is until the next time one of us screws up."

Dickie smirked. "Or the next time you decide to break into someone's house to take a shower," he snarled.

"Hey!" Elliot finally yelled, folding his arms. "The house is big, but not that big. We can hear you, ya know!"

The four kids looked stunned, looked at each other, and then looked back at Olivia and Elliot, waiting for them to say something. "Sorry," they mumbled together, meeting their father's irritated face and silence.

Olivia grinned at them, then. "Everything you said, well, up until the part when you two started in on each other," she said as she pointed to Kathleen and Dickie, "That was…that was really sweet." She took a step forward and rested her hands on the low end of the banister, looking up at them. "Thanks," she said, hiding the emotions she was feeling.

Lizzie looked down at her and smiled. "We meant it," she said. "Every word. We…we all really do love you, Liv."

Elliot wrapped his arms around her from behind her and kissed her cheek. "So do I," he whispered. "More than you will ever know."

"I think I know," she said, turning around to look at him.

He smiled at her, then looked up at his kids. "Ya know, it's not often that we get a full day off to spend with you guys. Go change, and we'll go someplace nice for dinner."

The kids let their faces light up as they bounded up the stairs. Elliot watched them leave, then turned back to Olivia. "Four teenagers, three of them girls, all trying to get into two bathrooms and then try to find something nice to wear to a fancy restaurant," he mumbled, pecking Olivia's lips with his as he spoke. "That could take a while," he mumbled, taking a few steps, backing Olivia up toward the master bedroom.

She chuckled and asked, against his lips, "How long?"

"Long enough," he whispered, pushing her through the door. He kicked it closed, tossed her on the bed, and flopped on top of her, kissing her deeply as he tugged off her pants.

Olivia moaned, trying to lose herself in the moment and enjoy her romp with her lover, but Lizzie's words were echoing in the back of her mind.

_Mother issues….passing down hostility….unknown illness…always be afraid…end up like her mother..._

"No," she heard herself say.

Elliot heard her, too, and stopped his movement immediately. "What?" he asked, still and quiet. "What'd I do, baby?"

She blinked, bringing herself back into the moment. She looked at him and said, "Nothing, El, it wasn't…I just…" she felt the tear rolling down her cheek before she could stop it. "I love you," she whispered.

Elliot crawled back up her body and looked down, into her eyes, smiling softly. He thumbed away the tear and said, "I love you, too, baby. What's with the water works?"

She took a breath and blinked. She knew the only reason her mother was that person was because of what happened to her. There was not a chance at all of her becoming anything like her as long as she had the love and life she had with Elliot. "I want…you," she said, the only phrase that made sense to her at the moment. "I want you, and whatever you want, whenever you want it, I'm with you. So, uh, woo me, Stabler," she said with a sniffle and a chuckle.

He smiled and laughed, dropping his head to kiss her. He linked their hands, deepened the kiss, and very slowly began to work his way inside of her, listening to the quiet moans and soft grunts that seemed like music.

The wooing would start at dinner.

And would be interrupted by dessert.

**A/N: Another issue with his mother? Or hers? Or does someone suddenly have a father issue? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: "Love is unconditional. You will do anything for the people you love. Even put up with their mothers."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler©**

The restaurant was elegant, and looking around, Olivia had a hard time believing she was here, with Elliot and the kids, and that he could afford to take her here.

The shock and confusion must have been written on her face, because as he sipped his water, Elliot leaned into her and asked, "What's the matter?"

She shook her head and gave him a smile. "Just…I've never been here before, it's very…nice."

He smirked. He knew what she was thinking, like he usually did. "Okay, guys, nothing over twenty bucks, huh?" he said to the kids. He grinned and leaned closer to Olivia and said, "You can whatever you want. I'm only saying that because they never eat their whole meals, and we wind up taking leftovers home, which they still never eat, and it's like wasting ten buck per child if ya think about it."

She chuckled at him and shook her head. "I'm still not getting anything that expensive," she said, looking at him. "I know what I want."

Looking her right in the eyes, a sly glimmer in his blue ones, he said, "So do I, Liv." He sipped his water again, never taking his eyes off of hers. He knew he saw fear in her eyes, but another emotion overshadowed it. Love. And a bit of excitement. It only made his smirk grow.

"So, Liv," Maureen said, a smile on her face, "What made you buy the house?"

Olivia turned, breaking her gaze from Elliot, and she looked at the girl. "My lease was up," she shrugged. "And I knew your father would…"

"So you bought a townhouse you probably didn't really want, just so Dad wouldn't have to look for a place for us for too long," Kathleen said, her head tilted. She smirked, then, like her father, and asked, "Do you ever do anything for yourself?"

"No," Elliot answered for her, catching her eyes as her head snapped back toward him. "She doesn't" he declared, finishing the glass of water. He raised a hand and called the waiter over, and he asked him to refill everyone's glass. "And can we get a bottle of red wine, I think…uh, what was the name of it…" he squeezed the bridge of his nose and then looked up, remembering. "Shafer Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon," he said quickly.

"Elliot!" Olivia gasped. "That's a hundred and seventy…"

"I know," he said, looking at her. "But you know why I'm getting it," he told her with a smirk. He nodded at the waiter and watched him leave to get the pitcher of water and their wine.

Olivia leaned into him and asked, "Are you crazy? Almost two-hundred bucks, for wine?"

He chuckled. "It's special, and you love it," he said as he kissed her. "I'd pay anyone anything to keep you happy."

She was silent for a moment, just looking at him, her easy smile sitting on her face. She smirked and kissed him, and as she pulled away, she whispered, "If this is your idea of wooing me…" she paused, kissed him again, and said, "Then you clearly know what you're doing."

He chuckled and kissed her one more time. "I don't, actually," he said. "I'm just…I'm trying. And I'm doing what feels right, what I think will make you happy." He lowered his voice and said, "But you just said it's working, so I'm better at this than I thought."

She laughed. Her eyes lit up and her smile was real, not forced, and she saw the look in his eyes as she watched him watching her. "I love you," she whispered to him.

"I love you, too, honey," he whispered back.

"And we love the both of you," Dickie said, rolling his eyes. "Can we get the waiter? I'm starving, and I'm wearing a tie. Two things that make a seventeen year old kid uncomfortable."

The table laughed and Elliot caught the waiter's attention again, discreetly slipping his other had into his pocket, his fingers running over the other box his mother had given him.

* * *

"Why are you in my office, again, Don?" Tucker asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

Cragen sighed, pacing back and forth. "Ed, I know something's going on. This is the fifth time his mother called, my personal number, not my office! I had to keep telling her they had the day off, she said she knew, they were off so they could move in together! Partners don't just…"

"Stop, Don," Tucker said, running a hand down his face. It still hurt to hear about Olivia and Elliot, but she was happy with him, and he knew that. He knew what he had to do. "Are you sure, absolutely certain, that they're romantically involved? Have you seen them…"

"No, not…not enough to…I mean, I know there's something going on, Ed!" he yelled. "Tell me what I have to do to keep them together, here." He turned and looked at Tucker, pleading.

Ed sighed, shook his head, and let his eyes close. "You don't have to do anything," he said. "Unless this affects their working relationship, which I haven't seen, and you haven't…then this isn't a problem." He looked up at Cragen and asked, "What did his mother want, exactly?"

Cragen sat, dropping his head in his hands, and said, "She wanted to know…she wanted to know if I wanted to chip in and get them their china, or…"

"China?" Tucker interrupted. "Wait, she told you they're getting married?" he asked, his heart cracking even more.

Cragen shrugged. "She's…she was babbling so much I…I don't think that's what she said, but she thinks they're heading in that direction and…"

"I'll talk to Olivia," Tucker said. "Just don't…don't do anything, Don. Leave it alone. You know nothing, I know nothing, when it becomes an issue, you know I will have no problem coming down hard on Stabler."

Cragen sighed and let out a light laugh. "You, uh, you never told me what he did that pissed you off so much, Ed," he said, folding his arms.

Tucker cleared his throat and said, "Let's just say he stole something from me, long before I ever really had it. I hold grudges."

Cragen raised an eyebrow and nodded, then left the office, wondering why Tucker wasn't jumping at the chance to suspend Elliot Stabler. He walked down the hall as his phone rang, and when he answered it, his heart stopped. He spoke for a moment, then had to call the one person he was getting sick of talking to. He dialed with a sigh, and waited for an answer. "Hello? Misses Stabler?" he asked in to the phone. "I need to know if you know where Elliot and Olivia, right now."

* * *

"No, Dickie," Elliot said, for the fifth time, "You can't have ice cream and the molten lava brownie…whatever. Just pick one."

"But I'm still hungry," the teen complained.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "The brownie sundae comes with ice cream, get that. Two birds, one stone," she said pointedly.

"You're such a frikken smart ass," Dickie grumbled under his breath.

"Hey!" Olivia scolded, hearing him. "Richard Brandon Stabler, I never want to hear you say anything like that to your sister, or anyone else at this table, again. Clear?"

Dickie looked at her with wide eyes. His mother never yelled at him like that. She was so stern, so serious, yell not loud and very scary. "Sorry, Liv," he said softly. "Yeah, clear. Uh, sorry."

Elliot sniggered. He'd only seen Dickie shake like that when he got angry. He looked at Olivia and smiled, thinking that she was going to make up for their years of less-than-stellar mothering. "I'm not used to having someone else discipline them," he whispered to her.

She looked at him, thinking she may have overstepped, and said, "Oh, I…I'm sorry, I…"

"No, baby, it was…that was amazing. Did you see the look on his face?" he chuckled. "I just…I was saying that…I'm glad I don't have to be the 'bad guy' anymore. I'm thrilled that we're gonna be on the same page with the kids, and you and I will both lay down the law in the house. Kathy…she always let them get away with everything, and would make me dole out the punishments when something really severe happened. She didn't want them to hate her, I guess."

"Look how well that turned out," Olivia quipped, smirking.

He brushed her hair back with one hand and took her hand with the other. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she said softly back to him. They were about to kiss when the waiter came over and said, "Sir, you are Elliot Stabler, yes?"

Elliot furrowed his brow and nodded. "Yes," he said.

"You have a phone call," the waiter said, gesturing to the table.

"No one knows we're here," Elliot said, turning to Olivia. "Except my mother. I'll be right back," he told his kids, and he kissed Olivia quickly and then got up to take the call.

Once he was gone, Maureen cleared her throat and said, "So, uh, Liv, can you tell us about your mother? What did she do to you to make you think you can't be a good mother?"

"Yeah," Kathleen nodded. "You're doing a hell of a job with us, so far," she said with a chuckle.

Olivia looked at them for a moment, her nerves and fears climbing, filtering through her system. "Well, uh, it was a lot of things, really. She…she didn't love me, she didn't even want me. She did everything she could to convince me that no one else would either, and I just thought…growing up, I thought you were what you came from. It wasn't until college, being on my own, away from her, that I made the choice to believe that I could change it all. I didn't have to become her if I didn't want to," she said, a soft, somber look on her face.

"You aren't," Kathleen said softly, with a smile. "Liv, you're nothing like her. You know that, don't you?"

Olivia gave her a soft smile, too, and she nodded. "I do, honey," she said, tilting her head.

Elliot returned to the table, a grim look on his face, and sat down again, running a hand through his hair. "Did you order dessert yet?" he asked, fishing his wallet out of his pocket.

Lizzie looked confused. "Uh, yeah, Dad, we were…"

"We need to get it wrapped," he said, snapping a finger at the waiter. He watched the man in the uniform come over and he said, "We need those desserts to go, please," as he handed him a shiny, silver, credit card.

"What happened?" Olivia asked, seeing the look on his face.

"We have to go," he said to her. "We have to drop the kids off at the house, and we have to get down to the station. We got a case."

She squinted at him for a moment. "Now? Why…I mean, Fin and Munch are…"

"They're handling it," he interrupted. "They need me to bring in the vic's daughter, since she's the only one who can help them crack the case."

She narrowed her eyes again and asked, "Well, why do they need you to do that? El, who is it?"

He squeezed her hand and shook his head. He took a breath and looked at her as he said, "You."

**A/N: A harsh interruption to an otherwise lovely evening. So if Olivia's mother is the vic, does that mean they found her father? Or is everything her mother told her about to be proved false? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: "A mother's love is unconditional. Those mothers that have not yet realized that are doing their children a terrible disservice."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler©**

"Do you have any idea what you put her through?" Elliot asked in a heartbreaking manner, quiet with a crack in his voice. His eyes were turned down, his lids drooping, and he sat hunched over, as if trying not to cry. He cleared his throat then, getting angry. "You dragged her down here, made her sit in that room, made her relive every detail of the…the worst years of her life…and it's not even him!"

"Elliot," Cragen began, confused by the emotions rolling off of the man in front of him. "Look, we had good reason to think it was…"

"DNA, that would be a good reason," Elliot interrupted. "Just because he was the same age and build as the man who…if you weren't sure, you shouldn't have…"

Cragen interrupted him again. "If this was anyone else," he said, "Any other vic, any other perp, would you be this upset? We bring in people for a lot less."

Elliot narrowed his eyes. "You're asking if I'm this concerned just because it's Liv?"

"Yeah," Cragen said, nodding once.

Without hesitation, without even blinking, Elliot said, "Damn right I am."

Cragen took a breath and held Elliot in his glare. "Why?" he asked.

"She's my partner," Elliot said, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, the real reason," Cragen said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "You've never been this concerned before, you were always the one yelling at me because you thought she was stronger, could handle more, you wanted me to trust her to be able to do certain things that other women her age in the field couldn't. Why is this different? What's changed?"

Elliot took another breath. He closed his eyes and said, almost inaudibly, "Everything's changed."

* * *

"You all right, Baby-Girl?" Fin asked, sending a cautious glance at Olivia, sitting at her desk.

Olivia nodded and gave him a small smile. "Fine," she said. "I wasn't really expecting it to be him. I've, uh, sort of come to terms with the fact that I'll never find him. I'll never know."

Fin smiled sadly at her and sighed. "You look gorgeous, by the way," he said, changing the subject. "Stabler rip you away from a hot date for this?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows.

Olivia chuckled and nodded. "Something like that, yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. She heard the door to Cragen's office open, her head snapped toward it, and she saw Cragen and Elliot, shaking hands, looking not happy, but not upset either.

Elliot walked toward her, his eyes trained on hers, and he held out his hand. He saw the look he was getting from her, and he nodded encouragingly.

She raised an eyebrow and put her hand in his, letting him pull her up. A moment of silent communication passed, and he turned back to Cragen and the other detectives. "See you tomorrow," he said. Then he led Olivia out of the squad room, making sure she understood.

She did. She understood. She realized it the moment he held out his hand for her. He'd told Cragen.

* * *

When they got home, the kids were asleep and the place was quiet. The only sounds were the footsteps they were taking as they trodded through the room and their breathing. Elliot followed Olivia into the bedroom, watched silently as the dress she'd been wearing all night slipped off of her shoulders and down her body, and let out a very soft gasp when he was left with just the view of her in black satin underwear.

He took two steps forward, looping his arms around her and splaying his open palms over her stomach. He pressed a sweet kiss between her shoulder blades and whispered, "I love you."

She sighed, leaning back into him, and she said, "I love you, too, El. You told him?"

"He knew," he shrugged, turning her around. "He already knew, baby. He was just waiting for one of us to tell him. He said he'd already asked Tucker if…"

"He talked to Ed?" she asked, her head suddenly straight and her body tense.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Please, can you stop calling him Ed?" he asked, grumbling. He looked at her, then, and said, "And yes, he talked to Tucker. But the thing is…he didn't seem to care. He said that if this becomes a problem, affects us at work, then, of course…"

"Why didn't he try to do something?" Olivia asked, confused. "He would normally look for a reason to get you into trouble. One falls in his lap and he…"

"And he lets it slide because of you," Elliot interrupted, smiling gently at her. "Baby, he's still got feelings for you. He knows you're happy, and he knows, though he will never admit it, that I'm better for you that he ever was, or ever would be."

She chuckled at his arrogance and said, "Better than anyone."

"Damn right," he quipped with a smirk. He kissed her, pulling her close, and let his arms slide up and down her bare back.

She kissed him for a moment, sinking into him, and as she pulled away, she said, "You didn't have to get that upset. I wasn't that…"

"You had to tell them…you had to listen to that tape and….and then when Fin asked you if you thought your mother could have been lying, I…"

"She could have been," she interrupted. "It was a valid question, El. We ask victims and witnesses that all the time."

"But you're not," he told her, shaking his head. "You're not either of those things. They treated you like…"

"They were doing their jobs," she said, kissing him, silencing him. "If I'm not upset or angry about it, you shouldn't be."

He shook his head and kissed her again as he slid her bra straps off of her shoulders, and said, "You don't know what goes through my head when you're in pain. Physical or emotional. I can't stand it," he said, dropping his forehead to hers as the black silk bra fell to the floor.

She smiled at him, pressing her lips to his quickly. "El, I know exactly what goes through your mind," she said. "Same thing that goes through mine when you're…"

She was cut off by his lips, meeting hers in a scorching kiss. He moved forward, forcing her backward, and they laughed when they fell onto the bed. She felt an incredible wave of happiness wash over her as he kissed her and chuckled , running his hands down and up her arms and body. Then she suddenly remembered something. "Your mother called," she said as she kissed him.

He groaned and rolled his eyes, stopping his kissing, and his hands stilled on her hips. "Why did you have to bring up my mother, right now?" he whined.

She chuckled and shook her head. "She wanted to know if we were any closer to needing the gift she sent us," she said, nibbling on his lower lip.

He growled slightly, knowing what she was trying to do. "Which one?" he asked, "The toaster oven, the gift certificates to Crimini's, or the crib?" he joked.

"Gee, El," she laughed, feeling him nip at her neck. "I wonder which one she was talking about."

He grunted. "We might be close," he whispered. "Ya never know. I mean, we're not exactly careful."

"I'm still on the pill," she said through a moan as his hands slid under the black silk of her panties. "So, I doubt…"

"So stop taking them," he interrupted. "We'll give my mother an excitement induced heart attack," he chuckled.

"I don't think so," she laughed, shaking her head as he slid two fingers up her slit slowly. She moaned and said, "I don't think we're ready for that. You're not done wooing me, yet," she teased.

"I'm never gonna be," he said, with a slow, low moan. Then he popped his head up and furrowed his brow. "I…there's something I wanted to ask you, at the restaurant. Before we were interrupted for nothing."

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Ask," she said with a shrug.

He shook his head and bit his lip. "I can't," he said. "Not now, not here," he told her, leaning up to kiss her lips again.

"Was it important?" she asked, now curious and a bit scared.

"Yeah," he said, nodding, his lip still caught between his teeth. "But it can wait," he said, turning his crooked lips up into a smirk.

"Well if it's important…" she began, but he interrupted her with a kiss.

He slid out of his pants and pulled off her panties, dropping soft kisses to her body as he moved. "Wasn't that important," he mumbled. "Forget it." He crawled back up, meeting her eyes, and he kissed her slowly, pushing into her gently, and trying to convince himself that it wasn't important, just as he'd try to do to her.

An early morning visit from his mother, and an afternoon with Ed Tucker, might just be enough to convince him it was that important.

**A/N: What does his mother say this time? What do he and Ed talk about? And Kathy gives them a surprise. Next. Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: "No influence is so powerful as that of the mother."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters/ideas belong to Dick Wolf. Original plot and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

Elliot had just finished eating the pancakes Olivia had made, with the help of Maureen, when the doorbell rang. He looked confused as he got up to answer it, while everyone else rushed to clean up the table and grab their school things. They were all running a little late.

"Hello, dear," a bright voice from the other side of the door chirped.

Elliot held in the urge to groan. "Hey, Mom," he said with a plastered on smile. "What are you doing here? At six in the morning?"

Bernie laughed, pushing her way into the room. "I thought I'd spend the day here today. Clean up, do the laundry I know you've been neglecting, start dinner. I brought my knitting," she said, holding up a bag.

"Mom," he said, taking a step toward her as he dodged a running Dickie. "No one is gonna be here, and we haven't been neglected the housework. We're busy, but…"

"Kathy, as much as I didn't care for her, was home long enough to make sure things got done," Bernie told him." You and Olivia aren't. You need me, Elliot. I'm more than happy to step in and…"

"Stop stepping in, Mom," he pleaded softly. "Please, I know you're trying to help, but…"

Bernie interrupted him. "I don't want to be all the way out there in that house by myself, Elliot. This will give me a…a purpose. Make me feel needed, huh?"

He ran a hand down his face as Maureen and Kathleen breezed by him, heading for their schools, kissing his cheek as they left. "Guilt trip," he muttered to himself. "Okay," he said, louder. "Fine. Stay. Cook, clean, knit, whatever, but do not rearrange the furniture, do not paint anything, and don't go through any drawers."

Bernie folded her arms and lifted her eyebrows.

"I know you, Ma," he told her. He kissed her cheek and he turned in time to see Olivia opening the door. "Bye," he said, letting Lizzie walk out first, then watching Olivia step out in front of him, then leaving himself.

Once the door was closed, Bernie grinned. She looked around, clapped her hands together and chuckled. "Oh, they're gonna love it," she said, shaking her head cheerfully as she reached for the phone.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Elliot asked in a whisper, leaning over to Olivia.

She smirked as she looked at him. "Why are we sitting in a sensitivity training seminar with Ed? Gee, El, I dunno. Could have something to do with the fact that you made Edna cry this morning and got us both written up."

He scoffed. "He writes us up for that, but not for sleeping together," he said with a shake of his head. "He doesn't make any sense."

She rolled her eyes. "You were kind of insensitive, El. The woman is seventy-three years old, she…"

"Then she should retire and let someone who can see clearly handle the paperwork," he interrupted.

"Yeah, that's why we're here," she said to him with a sigh.

He chuckled and looked back toward the front of the room. "What did you ever see in him?" he asked.

"You," she said. "Only older, shorter, and slightly less attractive."

"Slightly?" he questioned, looking irritated.

She laughed at him quietly. "I'm kidding. Shut up, or you'll get us suspended. She looked toward the front, at Tucker, who was talking and clicking the button on the remote controlling the PowerPoint slideshow being projected behind him. She caught his eyes, and he stopped talking. She shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable, wondering why he stopped.

Tucker smiled at her, then looked away, continuing his lecture. He would glace at her every so often, smirk, get a glazed and hazy look in his eyes.

Elliot noticed this, and he did not like it one bit. He looked at Olivia, who wasn't looking up anymore. She wasn't looking at anything, staring at a spot on the wall next to her. He knew, then, that if he didn't make a real move, ask her what he needed to ask her and make himself, and his mother, happy, then Ed, or someone else, would come along and take her from him. He just couldn't help feeling like she'd run.

She felt him staring at her, she turned her head slowly, she looked at him and shrugged, mouthing, "What?"

He shrugged back, smiling at her. He looked back at Tucker, realizing he didn't hear a single thing the man had said. He laughed then, when he realized he didn't really care.

"Something funny, Stabler?" Tucker asked, folding his arms. "You think making elderly secretaries is hysterical, so what about this was humorous to you?"

He shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "I was just thinking of something. Made me happy."

"And what's that?" Tucker asked, stepping closer to him.

Elliot smirked, folded his arms, and said, "Liv."

Tucker blinked. He took a step back and looked at Olivia, who looked surprised. He cleared his throat, bit his lip, and looked around. "You can all go. I don't wanna see any of you in here for this seminar again." He walked away, heading out of the room, not looking back.

Elliot furrowed his brow. "Not the reaction I was expecting," he mumbled, rising out of his chair.

"No, El," Olivia sighed. "Of course not. You don't seem to think he's human, Mister Sensitive."

"You're mad at me now?" he questioned, stunned. He followed as she moved, heading toward the door.

"I'm not mad at you," she said with a shake of her head. "I'm just…what's with you today? You never yell at anyone like that unless they deserve it. It's like…you sounded like you were yelling at…" she stopped, she looked at him, and she sighed. "Your mother."

Elliot bit his lip. "We have work to do, Liv," he said, bolting for the elevator.

"Hey!" she yelled, catching up to him. "Hey, what is it with you?" she asked. "You're the one constantly worried that I'm gonna push you away, or run, but lately you…"

"I'm nervous, okay?" he snapped. "I'm a wreck, and I know I shouldn't be, but…I left my less-than-normal mother at our house, Lord knows what she's up to, because she is definitely up to something. I've got something to ask you when we get out of here, and I don't know what you're gonna say," he sighed. "I've got a lot on my mind, and I just didn't need that woman being so pushy about a missing signature, when it was there the whole time."

She rested a hand on his shoulder as the doors opened, and she ushered him into the lift gently. "This is about what you were trying to ask me at dinner, isn't it?" she asked, watching the doors slide shut. "El, just ask me, and…"

"I can't just ask you," he interrupted. "I'm not asking you to help me with paperwork, or co-sign a loan for me here, Liv. This is…this has to be done right or it's gonna blow up in my face. I screwed it up the first time and…"

"The first time?" she asked. Her head tilted, her eyes narrow, and her hand falling from his shoulder, she realized. "Are you…are you trying to ask me…"

"Shit," he spat. He sighed, and he looked up at her. "Well, this isn't how this was supposed to happen." He shook his head, shoved his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the white box. "I told you my mother bought two rings that day," he said. "The one on your finger's gorgeous, but…"

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. People filed in as Olivia looked out, then grabbed Elliot's hand, getting off on whatever floor it was to avoid the crowd.

Elliot looked around, thinking that the last place he should do this was in the middle of the homicide unit. "Roof," he mumbled, pulling her hand. He found the staircase and they climbed. He pushed open the door, leading her outside, and he brought her to their corner. He looked at her and took another breath.

"Better?" she asked, trying to smile at him.

He shook his head. "Worse. I mean this place is…it's special so if you say no, it's gonna make me never wanna come up here again." He cleared his throat and said, "So anyway, the ring on your finger is gorgeous." He flipped open the box in his hand, saw her face pale and her eyes widen, and he heard her gasp. "This one had to be the real thing," he told her.

"Oh, my God, Elliot," she whispered, staring into the princess cut diamond and amethyst ring.

He bit his lip and took her hand, giving it a squeeze despite the cold clamminess of his palm. He slowly dropped down, knowing it was right, and looked up at her. "You know. Everything I could possibly say to you, you know. You know what I'm thinking before I do, sometimes. You know what I'm feeling, even when I'm trying to hide it. You know everything about me, and you know I can't live without you." He blinked and pushed the ring a little closer to her. "I told you I'd ask when it felt right, but the truth is, it felt right then, I was just afraid that you'd panic, or that I'd screw up somehow."

"El," she whispered with a sniffle, crying softly.

"I'm not perfect," he said, shaking his head. "I know I'm gonna make mistakes and I'm gonna screw up, but I've been doing that for years and we're still together. You're still right here, next to me, with me. This would just be making it official. Making it forever." He blinked again and saw the tear roll down her cheek. "Will you marry me, Liv?"

Olivia blinked a few more tears away from her eyes, she knelt down to his level, and she nodded. He sighed, slid the ring onto her left finger, and kissed her. Olivia cupped her face with her two ringed hands, and she let her tears dry as he flattened her out on the rooftop.

* * *

"Where the hell have you two been?" Cragen boomed as Olivia and Elliot walked into the squad room. "That seminar ended over an hour ago!"

Elliot shrugged. "We had to take care of a few things," he said, unable to wipe the smile off of his face, despite his boss yelling at him.

"You two have a visitor up in the lounge," Cragen said, irritated. "After that, do you think you two can find time in your busy schedules to do some damned work around here? Fin and Munch will be back with McArthur soon, you're handling the interrogation." He gritted his teeth and said, "And do I even wanna know why your shirt is in backwards?"

Elliot looked down, noticing his buttons were on the wrong side. He chuckled and said, "Probably not. No." He looked up and headed for the stairs, wondering who was there to see them.

Olivia followed him, regretting it the minute they walked into the small, comfortable room. Kathy sat on the green couch, rubbing her large baby-belly.

"Why," was all Elliot said.

"Nice to see you, too," Kathy replied with an eye-roll. "Look, I'm only here to tell you that your mother called. I thought you'd like to know what to expect to go home to tonight." She smirked and said, "Congratulations, by the way."

Olivia's eyes widened. "How did you…"

"Bernie told me," Kathy said, furrowing her brow. "It's true? I thought she was just…"

"It's true," Elliot interrupted. "But we just…I mean, I only just…how the hell would she know?"

Kathy looked at Olivia, her head moving up and down, her eyes examining every inch of Olivia's body. "When are you due, exactly?"

Olivia's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?" she asked, insulted.

"What are you talking about?" Elliot asked, confused.

Kathy looked at him. "You just said…Bernie told me she was setting up the nursery when she called. She wanted the old rocking chair we had in the garage. Isn't that what…I congratulated you and you said…"

"I'm not pregnant," Olivia shot out, needing to get that cleared up.

"Then what the hell did the two of you think I was talking about?" Kathy asked, wide-eyed and curious.

Elliot licked his lips and folded his arms. "We're getting married," he said.

"Oh," Kathy said, nodding, suddenly looking less happy than she was a minute ago. "Well, I just came by to give you these, Elliot. And to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing great," he said, taking the folder filled with papers from her. He flipped it open and said, "Isn't it a little late to be giving these to me? It was finalized…"

"I was holding on," Kathy interrupted. "To what, I don't know, but I knew that once you had them that it would really be over. I guess it was anyway."

Elliot nodded, putting the papers back into the folder. "Thanks," he said, nodding. "You take care of yourself, okay?"

Kathy nodded. "You, too," she said, heading for the stairs. "Take care of each other."

They watched her walk down the steps, then looked at each other. "Nursery," Olivia said. Elliot nodded. "You know she has to redecorate the entire house to do that, right? There's only four…"

"Fuck," he spat, running a hand down his forehead. "baby," he said as he looked at her, "If I kill her, you'll help me hide the body right?"

She laughed and shook her head as she shoved him playfully toward the stairs. "Why does she think we need a nursery?" she asked.

"Same reason she thinks you're a vegetarian," he grumbled. "She doesn't listen to anything but the voice in her head."

Olivia sighed and straightened out his tie. "You really did put your shirt on backwards," she whispered.  
He chuckled and watched her heading for her desk as he moved toward his. He needed to get her home, celebrate their engagement the right way where he wouldn't rush to redress himself. He looked up at the clock and sighed. It was gonna be a long night.

**A/N: What did Bernie do to the house? What does Elliot do with the finalized documents? How do the kids react to the news? And what does Tucker say? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: "The greatest gift a mother can give to her child is herself."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters/ideas belong to Dick Wolf. Original plot and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

Walking into the house, Elliot held his breath. He didn't know what he was going to find, what his mother had done. "Living room looks okay," he said, closing the door.

Olivia nodded, twirling the ring around her finger. She peeked into the kitchen and said, "This room is fine,"

"Dad!" Dickie yelled from behind them.

Elliot turned, jumping at the sound of his son's voice. "Hey, kiddo."

"Grandma is going nuts upstairs," Dickie said.

Maureen, behind him, added, "She made me move all of my stuff into Kathleen's room. Lizzie is covered in yellow paint." She crossed her arms. "I had to put a crib together. Is there something you and Liv want to tell us?"

Olivia sighed. "No," she said. "There's nothing..."

"Yes," Elliot interrupted. "But it isn't that. She's not having a baby, guys." He raised his eyes toward the ceiling and said, "Grandma's just a little excited, that's all."

Dickie folded his arms. "So she's not pregnant," he said, "Then what do you have to tell us?"

Elliot looked back at Olivia. "I will tell you later," he said. "Let's go stop Grandma, huh?"

Olivia watched him turn and take the two kids upstairs. She took a deep breath and glanced around the house, wondering if she was really ready to be a wife, and a mother. Mother, she thought, was a word she always associated with pain, but as she climbed the stairs, she smiled.

Whether she liked it or not, whether she was ready or not, she was a mother now. She was doing pretty damn good so far, so there was no reason to hate that word anymore.

She was a mother, and was about to be a wife, and as scary as it was, it was thrilling. She stopped walking when she realized something. She knew what the ring on her finger really meant. She looked up, Heavenward, and she sighed again, leaning against the door to what was now the nursery. "Thanks, Mom," she whispered.

"You're welcome, dear," Bernie said, walking out of the doorway. "I'm glad one of you appreciated this. You'll need it sooner than you think," the woman said, patting Olivia's tummy.

Olivia blinked. She wasn't talking to Bernie, and if she was, why would she call the woman "mom?" She tilted her head and looked down at the hand resting over her stomach. "I'm not pregnant," she said, shaking her head. "I wish people would stop assuming..."

"A mother knows," Bernie said. "You might not be now, but you will be soon." She smiled and said, "He asked you, didn't he?"

"Yes," Olivia said, giving a single nod.

"And you said...?" Bernie prodded.

Olivia let out another breath. "Yes," she said, her arms still folded. "What does that have to do with..."

"Did you set a date?" Bernie interrupted.

Olivia balked. "No," she said. "We didn't really have a chance to talk about this. We were at work and..."

"Well, set a date," Bernie said. "Make it soon, and I guarantee you'll come back from your honeymoon..."

"Mom!" Elliot yelled, finally walking over to them. "You've done enough already, all right? Thank you for the lovely nursery that we don't need. Thank you for making my kids think we've been keeping something from them. Thank you for making Kathy hunt me down at work to give me one last pathetic attempt at an apology. But, really, enough, okay?"

Bernie smiled at her son. "You are so stubborn sometimes," she chided. "Just take the help, Elliot. If I hadn't intervened, you would still be miserable with Kathy." She narrowed her eyes at him and said, "A simple thank you would have been enough."

"Thank you," Elliot said, gritting his teeth. "Goodnight," he added, telling her in no uncertain terms he wanted her to leave.

Bernie sighed. "Can't win, I guess," she shrugged. She looked at Olivia one more time and said, "Pick that date. Have that baby. Live."

Olivia blinked as Bernie walked away from her, the last command reverberating in her mind. _Live_, she thought, over and over. She looked at Elliot and raised an eyebrow, then, snapping back to reality. "What did she do in there?"

"See for yourself," he told her. He stepped back, letting her into the room, and through the strong smell of fresh paint, she got a whiff of baby powder. She looked around, unable to keep the smile from forming. The furniture was set up and stained to match the panels on the wall. The rocking chair Kathy had mentioned was in the corner of the room, filled with stuffed animals. A packed diaper bag rested on the changing table, next to a personalized duffle bag, which she imagined would be the bag to grab when she went into labor.

She stopped herself from thinking anymore. She wasn't pregnant, she wasn't going into labor, but this was beautiful. "El, it's…it's so…"

"I know what it is," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "When Kathy told me she was pregnant with Maury, I told my mom. We had this long talk about what I wanted to do, how I saw things, what I wanted her to have." He looked around the room, then into her eyes. "I told her about this. This room, everything in it, it's what I wanted."

She glanced at him nervously. "You never got any of it the first time?"

He shook his head. "We couldn't afford it. We had the same crib for all four kids, it came from a discount furniture place in Brooklyn. The room was small, there was no rug…the only thing we bought was the rocking chair, and she didn't even want it." He smiled at Olivia. "I wanted it, so when I got home at night, I could pick up the baby, rock with her, sing to her, have some daddy time."

"That's….that's so sweet," she whispered, her head dropping to his. "I'm sorry," she said, then. "You shouldn't have to look at this stuff if we're not expecting a…"

"Okay," Maureen's voice interrupted. "Now, if there is no baby, then what is this thing you said you had to tell us?"

Elliot looked away from Olivia, noticing all four of his children standing in the room with their arms folded, waiting. "Well, uh," he stammered. He cleared his throat and said, "I asked Liv to marry me."

There was silence. The kids looked at each other, daring someone to speak. "Wow," Lizzie said.

"Don't you think that's a little fast?" Kathleen asked, stunned.

Dickie raised an eyebrow. "They've been together for a few months now, Katie." He looked at her and said, "And you're the one who…"

"I'm not saying I'm upset, or mad, I just…Grandma's off her rocker, okay?" Kathleen said. "So am I. I know that, but I just don't want them to think they have to do this to keep Grandma from losing it completely."

Elliot shook his head at his daughter. "I'm not doing this for Grandma, honey. Liv and I…we just…we both want this." He looked at her and smiled softly. "We didn't see the point in waiting."

Lizzie sighed. "But why is Grandma so sure you're having a baby? Now I have to deal with these two sharing a room again. You know how awful that was the first time! They're gonna fight all the time and keep us all awake!"

"Not to mention, Kathleen snores," Maureen said, her eyes rolling.

"I do not!" Kathleen defended.

Elliot laughed. "Yes, you do," he said. "You take after your mother. That woman sounded like a faulty carburetor." He looked at Olivia again and said, "You only snore when you're sick and can't breathe, and you're cute when you do it." He kissed her nose and grinned at her.

"So?" Dickie prodded. "What are we gonna do about this room?"

Olivia smirked. "We're keeping it just the way it is. Your father and I will move the stuff in the game room into the den, tomorrow, and you guys can move Maureen's things in there." She looked at the girls. "You two think you can be civil for one night?"

"Yeah," Maureen said, nodding.

"Fine," Kathleen agreed.

"Good," Elliot said. "Go to bed and prove it," he laughed.

The kids went their separate ways, leaving Olivia and Elliot alone in the nursery.

She snuggled back, into his arms, and she sighed. "It really is nice in here," she said.

He nodded, his own sigh escaping. "Eventually," he said. "We'll use it eventually." He kissed the back of her head and pulled her out of the room, shutting the light off and closing the door. "For now, we just…don't go in there." He laughed and kissed her lips.

She followed him into their room, and she asked him something that had been on her mind all day. "Those papers," she said. "What did you do with them?"

"They're in my desk at work," he told her, starting to change. "Why?"

She bit her lip. "Did you look at them? Really look at them?" she asked, pulling her shirt over her head.

Elliot struggled to concentrate on something other than her body. And he said, "I read over every single page. I am officially, well and truly, a divorced man, who is about to embark on his second marriage."

She chuckled. "It's my first time," she said coyly, stepping over to him. She placed her hands on his bare chest, looked longingly into his eyes, and said, "Be gentle."

He kissed her and pulled her tightly against him. "With you? Always." He ran his open palms down her body, cupping her ass, and just as things were about to take an eventful turn, his cell phone rang. He groaned and whined, "Oh, come on."

She chuckled, kissing him once, then peeled herself away from him.

He noticed her picking up her pajama bottoms and he stopped her. "Do not put those pants on," he ordered, pointing at her as he answered the call. He crooked his finger, beckoning her back to him as he said, "Stabler."

She raised an eyebrow and moved, slinking toward him, and he grabbed her waist, holding her to him. "What?" she mouthed.

He ran his lips over her forehead lightly. "Yeah," he said. "I don't think there is any chance of…are you kidding?" He straightened up, still holding Olivia, and said, "That is such shit, and you know it. I know it's better than…but really, I…" He stopped talking and sighed. "Okay, Cap. Bye."

"Cragen?" she asked as Elliot hung up.

He nodded. "Cragen and the chief just had a nice little chat, and we're being put under professional observation so they can determine if our relationship is hindering our ability to work together."

"What?" Olivia gasped. "What did we do?"

"It's more about me than it is you," he told her. "Guess who's doing the observing?"

She fell into him a bit, groaning a soft, "You have to be kidding."

"Not kidding," he said. "Tucker better watch it. I'm not above hitting him if he tries anything, baby. I'd rather lose my job because I was defending you than lose it because of being with you."

She lifted her head, kissed him, and whispered, "I love you."

He smiled against her lips as he moved her closer to the bed. "I love you, too, baby," he murmured. He laid her gently on the bed, kissing her softly, trying to forget that one wrong move at work the next morning would mean the end. The end of everything.

**A/N: What exactly does Tucker observe? And the first bit of the money is spent on the wedding, but on what? And a chat with the A.D.A? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: "A mother only sees the world for what it truly is when she looks at it through the eyes of her child."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler©**

Tucker had been following them around all day, scribbling notes in a pad, watching their every move. He would occasionally scoff, clear his throat, eye Olivia suggestively, and then go back to scribbling in his notebook.

As the day wore on, Elliot found himself losing it completely. He didn't know if he could take much more. He had been holding in all of the resentment and the anger, holding onto his pride and professionalism, trying to be the bigger man. When they walked into the squad room, he threw his keys onto his desk, took a look around, and turned. "Are we done now?" he asked. "I haven't so much as called her by her first name all day, so it's pretty damn obvious…"

"This wasn't about you," Tucker interrupted. He walked over to Olivia, gave her a once over, his eyes tracing a long line from the top of her head to the points of her heeled boots. "You," he said, "Are going to look so beautiful when you start..." he made an odd sort of gesture around his chest and belly.

Her eyes widened. "I think I've just been sexually harassed," she said, turning to Elliot.

"Admittedly," Tucker said, "Last night, I planned to observe, thinking of the best way to split you two up, but when I got to my office this morning and Cragen told me…well, I know now that I can't do that."

"Cragen told you…what exactly did Cragen tell you?" Elliot asked, stepping forward.

"About the baby," Tucker said, sighing. "I've been a little obnoxious lately, thinking I could somehow win her back, but I'm not the type to break up a family."

"What baby?" Olivia asked, her hand shooting to her stomach. "Ed, I'm not…"

"It's okay," Tucker said, holding up a hand. "You don't have to hide anything from me, the department is behind you completely. Today was about me judging if it was a good idea to keep you in the field in your, um, condition."

"There is no condition!" she yelled, throwing up her hands. "I'm going on a diet. This is getting really old, really fast. If one more person…"

"Hey! There they are!" Munch said, walking out of the interrogation room with Fin and Cragen. "Proud parents, huh?"

Olivia let out a frustrated grunt and declared firmly, "I am not pregnant!"

Cragen pointed to a box behind her desk. "Tell that to whoever sent you those."

She turned and rolled her eyes. A blue teddy bear, a bunch of balloons, and a small box in wrapped in a blue bow, each gift proudly beaming, "It's A Boy!" to whoever would see. She tore open the box and read the attached card. "Olivia, I have great instincts. Do yourself, and my grandson, a favor a pick a masculine name. Stabler men have always been a bit on the brawny side." She held up a book of baby names to Elliot. "Is she for real?"

Elliot ran a hand down his face. "My mother has gone completely off her rocker," he said.

"Yeah," Olivia scoffed, "Because we have her rocker!"

Elliot chuckled. "no, we have Kathy's," he said, and shook his head. He turned at the confused group of people staring at him. "Guys, Cap, uh, as far as we know, she is not pregnant. You can all back off now."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "I spent an entire day evaluating the wrong thing?"

"Guess so," Elliot said. "You found out what you needed to find out, though, right? Liv and I…we're fine."

Tucker nodded. "Much as I hate to admit, you were…you were the best team in action I've seen in a while."

Cragen looked proud as he turned to Tucker and said, "I told you they wouldn't be a problem."

"I was just…" he shook his head and looked back at Olivia. "You really are going to make one beautiful mother," he whispered to her.

She nodded and tried to smile. "Thanks, Ed."

And as Tucker walked out of the room, Elliot sighed. It was over, he knew now. The end of his need to prove he'd won, the end of his desire to rub his relationship with Olivia in Ed's face, it was over. Tucker got it now.

* * *

"You sure that's the one you wanted?" Elliot asked, walking with Olivia down the street. Their hands were intertwined and a light breeze was flowing through the small gaps between them.

She smiled up at him and nodded. "That was it," she said. "Worth every penny."

"I can't believe we're getting married," he laughed, looking up at the night sky, and I can't believe we just ordered a cake and paid for it, honey, we're..."

"I know," she interrupted. "It's happening."

He lifted their joined hands and looped his arm around her neck, drawing her nearer to him. "It's such an amazing night, huh?"

She hummed, agreeing. "Stars, El. We don't get to see them much, but they're all there."

"This…this is nice," he sighed. "Just us, alone, not that I don't love my kids, but…"

"We needed time alone," she cut him off, smirking. "It was nice of Kathy to take them for the weekend."

Elliot shrugged. "She hasn't seen them in a while, she…she's doing a lot better," he said. "They're her kids. As long as they come home safe and healthy, I'm not gonna keep them from her."

She kissed his cheek. "You're amazing," she said, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "Your mother also seems to think you have super-powered sperm."

"I do," he laughed. "She's…she's a crazy, old woman, baby, but what is she really doing wrong? I would much rather her tell everyone who'll listen you're pregnant with my son than have anyone even think they're allowed to hit on you."

She laughed at him. "I see your point," she said. "But Tucker? Cragen? It was embarrassing, and it kind of…"

"Hurt," he finished. "I felt it, too. Having them talk about something we want so badly that…that just isn't happening."

She let out a long slow breath. "It will when we're ready," she said. "We've just got the kids settled, Dickie and Maureen moved the furniture around again, and they're not even really used to the idea of us being married, yet. We all need a little time to…"

"My mother thinks we're moving too slowly," he laughed, pulling her into his arms as he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "She wants everything to happen at light-speed, the way they happened with Kathy, so she can finally see me and the kids, and herself, happy. I can't blame her for that."

He kissed her sweetly and said, "I'm not gonna lie, baby, I've thought about it. Thought about what would happen if we did have a baby, and I can't tell you how happy that thought makes me. Watching him, or her, grow up and figure things out, watching the little eyes light up with each new discovery, hearing him or her call me 'Daddy' for the first time, Liv, I can't wait."

Olivia kissed him again, smiling against his lips. "Makes me happy, too, El," she said. "You gotta give it a little time, though, you know. I only just stopped…"

"You stopped taking them?" he asked, excited.

"You told me to," she laughed. "You said you wanted to give your mother a heart…" she was cut off when his lips slanted over hers. The force of his rushed embrace knocked her into the wall behind her, and she moaned when she felt his hands sliding up her thighs. "El," she whispered, "God, El, stop. We're in the middle of…"

"I know where we are," he grumbled, moving his hand up her body and cupping her face. He kissed her forcefully, making sure she felt it down to her toes.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her, forgetting herself, even though she had just reminded him, where she was. She pushed him away when she felt the bricks scraping against her back. "Shit," she seethed. She laughed at their childlike behavior, she rolled her eyes and took his hand. "Take me home, Stabler."

He let his thumb wiggle the ring on her left hand a bit as they walked toward their house. "Sorry," he sighed. "Don't know what came over me."

She grunted and smirked. "The thought of having sex with the possible end result of a child," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Admit it, El. You get off on knowing that you're probably…"

"Just with you," he told her. "That's kind of where Kathy's mothering issues lie. She…she didn't want to be pregnant so young, and then for it to happen again so quickly, she…it's like she never got a break, ya know? She resented them a lot of the time." He shook his head and tugged her hand, walking faster. "With you, it's…we can plan, and we can prepare, and we can do all of things parents are supposed to do. Baby-proof the outlets, make sure there aren't any sharp edges…"

She stopped walking again, turned to him, and pressed a finger to his lips. "Are you done trying to convince me this is really what you want?"

He pretended to think about it, then shook his head, kissing the pad of her finger resting on his mouth.

She laughed and said, "El, one thing at a time, okay? Wedding, then baby, then…"

"More babies," he said, though it came through squished together lips.

She laughed again, then brushed her finger over his lips. "I love you," she said. "So much."

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. "I love you, too, baby." He kissed her tenderly.

The woman who had spotted them three blocks away, who had followed them to their current spot, walked toward them, with a feeling of regret that she had to interrupt such a touching moment. She slowly stepped toward them, waited as they kissed, then cleared her throat. "Detectives," she said, smirking.

They pulled apart quickly, turning and straightening up. "Casey?" Olivia gasped, trying to catch her breath.

The redheaded lawyer smirked. "Good to know you two have finally come to your goddamned senses," she said. "I was afraid I'd come back and find the two of you in the same sorry boat you were in before."

Elliot looked at her. "You're…"

"Pregnant," Casey said. "How observant, Detective Stabler. That's…that's why I came back."

Olivia looked at Elliot, folding her arms.

"Oh, please!" Elliot spat at her. "It isn't mine!"

"Yeah," Casey scoffed. "No matter how short my skirts were, his eyes were always permanently glued to your ass." She chuckled and asked, "I need to know where Fin is."

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other. Someone was not going to like this. Not at all.

**A/N: Next: How good are Bernie's instincts? More wedding plans, Elliot talks to his mother, and Casey finds Fin. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: "Maternal instinct, for mother-in-laws, extends beyond their own children, ultimately annoying everyone else."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler©**

"Wow," Melinda said, her eyes wide. "That is...that is one...you look..."

Alex interrupted her. "You have to get that one."

Olivia bit her lip. "It's not...forget it."

"Not what?" Melinda asked. "Not lacey enough? Not sparkly enough? Not vintage enough? Not perfect enough?"

Olivia shook her head, looking at her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. "Not what I imagined," she said. "I always thought I'd have to wear something simple, something...cheap. This is...this is the most perfect dress in the world and because of my mother I can afford it. Do you know how hard it is for me to accept that?"

Alex stood, walked over to her friend, and ran a hand along the rose-tinted lace of the cap sleeves. "It fits you like a glove, Olivia. It's everything you want, right? Accept it, be happy, stop trying to find a reason not to be." She met Olivia's eyes in the mirror's reflection. "You deserve this. And so does he."

Olivia smiled, moving her eyes from Alex's down to the reflection of the dress, the silk and lace hitting each curve perfectly and the vintage crystal details catching the light. "It's the one," she said, and then she smiled. "He's the one."

Melinda smiled softly at her friend. "If he's the one, Olivia, then everything else will take care of itself. It should be easy."

Olivia stepped off of the round platform and looked back at her friends before stepping back into the fitting room. "It's too easy," she said with a sigh. "The only problem we're having is with his mother," she complained, rolling her eyes.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of mother-in-laws," Alex said with a smirk.

Olivia chuckled, closing the door, and as she slipped out of the vintage dress, she sighed. She had a feeling something was going to pop up and ruin everything. Her instincts, like Bernie had claimed hers were, were never wrong.

* * *

Bernie, rolling her eyes as she listened to her son's ranting, shook her head and held up a hand. "Elliot, has she even bothered to go to the doctor?"

"That's not the point, Mom!" Elliot said, annoyed. "You can't keep sending her things, or buying us new things for a non-existent baby! You almost got us both fired yesterday!"

"Oh, you're being dramatic," Bernie scoffed.

"I am? Call Cragen, Ma. Call Tucker. We were watched and scrutinized, they almost put Liv on a desk for the next nine months, and you've got her wanting to go on some crash diet because she's paranoid that she looks pregnant."

Bernie smirked. "Because maybe she is, did you ever think of that?"

"Mom, listen to me, okay? Liv is not pregnant, and she won't be for quite some time." He sat next to her on the couch and shook his head as he sighed. "We want kids, I swear we do, and we will have them, but can you give us a little time to just be with each other first?"

"You're not with each other now?" Bernie questioned, one eyebrow raised.

Elliot softened his look and took his mother's hand. "Mom, Liv and I...this is still new, and you've already pressured and guilted me into proposing faster and sooner than I should have. I just want to be able to be with her, spend a few months just rediscovering what we have and enjoy it. I don't wanna make the mistakes with her that I made with Kathy."

At the mention of that name, Bernie paled. "I was just..."

"I know what you were doing, Mom, but forcing us to move fast and start popping out the kids isn't going to negate the last twenty years," he said, squeezing her hand. "I know you want it to be like Kathy never existed, you want the kids to call her 'mommy' you want new little Stablers running around that are half-Benson, I do, too, but...not like this. If we rush it, then the same exact thing is gonna happen, Mom. Don't you get that?"

Bernie brought her hand up to his face, wiping away the fearful tear that had fallen. "Elliot, you are the one that doesn't get it. It's right with Olivia. It's the way it has to be, should be, with her. Nothing you do is going to make her run, or make her hate you. You've had ten years together, falling in love slowly, flirting and teasing, you already wooed her. Don't lie to your mother Elliot, you gave in to those desires and fantasies once or twice, working late my ass."

"I have never..." he saw the look in his mother's eyes. He sighed. "I never cheated on Kathy."

"Not physically," Bernie said smugly. "But all those nights you spent on Olivia's couch, or together in the cribs. You want me to believe you never held her close, never kissed her, never..."

"All right, Mom, you made your point," Elliot spat, hiding the smirk on his face. "But now, we're allowed to do all of that and more, and I would love nothing more than to be able to be that way for a little while longer, just us." He looked into his mother's eyes and asked, "Can you stop making us feel like that's wrong?"

"As long as you promise me something in return," Bernie said, standing.

Elliot sighed. "What?"

"Make it count, Elliot. Do things you wouldn't normally do with a girlfriend. Teach her how to cook, take her for a ride on the motorcycle in the garage that you haven't touched since you were eighteen, and you're gonna be forty. Take her dancing, Elliot. Do things that you never did, or wanted to do with Kathy."

Elliot smiled at up at his mother and said, "Sometimes, Mom, you rally do have amazing advice for me."

Bernie bent over and kissed him on the cheek, then grabbed her bag. "The advice will keep coming, Elliot, but...until you tell me she is having a baby, I will drop that particular subject."

"I love you, Mom," he said with a gentle and content sigh.

Bernie's eyes filled with tears, and she nodded. "I love you, too, son." She walked out of the door, thanking God for Olivia Benson, who had given her son back to her whether she knew it or not.

Before Elliot could settle back on his couch, the door swung open again. "Liv?" he questioned, turning around. He saw her coming in with a garment bag and groceries. He ran to her to help, grabbing the brown paper bags and setting them on the table.

"Thanks," she sighed, smiling. "Do you wanna see the..."

"No," he interrupted, kissing her. "You may not be superstitious or traditional, but I am. We're doing this right, baby."

She chuckled and kissed him again, then turned around. "Look what followed me home," she said, pointing toward the door.

Fin, an apologetic look in his eyes, walked through the door with a duffle bag. "I need to borrow your couch for a few days," he said, shrugging.

"Oh, man," Elliot said, his arms still wrapped around Olivia. "What happened?"

"Casey happened," Fin spat, sitting on the arm of the leather couch. "She shows up at my door, eight months pregnant, Mel came home at the same time, lookin' all pissed off..."

Olivia tilted her head. "You...cheated on..."

"No," Fin said, shaking his head. "Casey and I...it was a couple nights before I was even with Melinda. Mel didn't believe me either, so she kicked me out. I..."

Elliot shook his head. "Sit, stay," he said, moving toward the phone. "I'll call her, we'll have a nice dinner, we'll get this straightened out. Not that I don't love you, man, but..."

"No, man, I get it, I appreciate it," Fin said, nodding. "Thanks."

Elliot moved to make the phone call, and Olivia hung her dress in the hall closet. Fin watched her do it, and he said, "You're really doin' this then."

Olivia nodded. "Seems that way, doesn't it," she joked, folding her arms.

"Look, yesterday, I'm sorry we all thought you were...you don't look it, at all, but when that bundle of blue balloons came, we..."

"It's okay, Fin," she said, laughing. "I know." She grabbed the groceries and walked into the kitchen, unintentionally catching Elliot's conversation with Melinda. She tried not to listen, knowing she would get the other side of the conversation from her later, but it was hard to tune out.

"Mel, he never...I'm positive. She was before you, I swear, I...all right. Yeah. We're all here, and we're...okay," he sighed. "See you soon." He hung up and turned, knowing she was behind him. "Why are we always stuck in the middle of this shit?"

"Because we give off the impression that we know what we're doing, even though we're just as clueless as everyone else," she answered, putting food away.

He bit his lip, looked at the food, and he smirked. "We're not that clueless, he said." He grabbed some chicken, vegetables, and the bag of uncooked rice and set them aside, then helped her put the rest of the groceries away.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the food set out on the counter. "You're cooking tonight?"

"No," he said, walking over to her. "We are. Cook with me."

She laughed. "You're insane," she said, tilting her head.

He chuckled. "No, baby, I think it'll be fun. You and me, cooking together, maybe you'll a thing or two." He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her gently, slowly prying her mouth open.

She moaned softly as the kiss deepened, and she wrapped her arms around him. Fin, watching them from the doorway, shook his head. He wanted that, he wanted a love like that, and he was sure he'd never get it now. He was gonna be a father, again, and the woman he loved was not happy about it. He had to fix this, and he was thankful that Olivia and Elliot were going to be there to help him do it.

**A/N: Melinda has a few things to say, Olivia's fear becomes a reality, and Bernie pays a visit to the precinct with only four words to say to her son. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: "Maternal instinct is not something all women are born with. Those lucky enough to possess the mystical quality are women born to be mothers."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters/ideas belong to Dick Wolf. Original plot and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

"Just keep stirring it, don't let it get too dark," Elliot instructed as he stood behind Olivia in front of the stove.

She was shaking the frying pan, turning a wooden spoon around as the chicken pieces hopped and sizzled. "I'm actually cooking something that didn't come out of a can," she mused, smiling over her shoulder.

"Yeah, baby," he said as he kissed her nose. "You are." He whispered in her ear, an air of seduction and arrogance in his voice, "We're gonna be cooking something else, later, too."

She chuckled and elbowed him gently as he guided her hand to the pan's handle. "All you think about is sex," she scolded.

"no, I think about the kids, I think about work, I think about sports, and then I think about sex," he admitted. "A lot of it. With you," he said as he kissed the back of her neck again. "Turn off the heat. Add the sauce."

She raised an eyebrow and bit the tip of her tongue in concentration. She turned the flame off, moved the pan to a cooler spot, and poured in the cup of white, cheesy sauce that had been waiting on the counter.

Elliot kissed the back of her neck and said, "You just made dinner."

"And nothing is on fire," she said with an honestly surprised expression on her face.

He laughed and turned her around to face him. "You just needed someone to walk you through it. Your mother never made a home-cooked meal a day in her life. At least not for you, so how the hell could you have known how to do it?"

She shrugged. "I guess," she said. She kissed him and said, "This was…this was really nice. Fun, romantic, a little sexy," she said with a waggle of an eyebrow.

"Sexy, huh?" he quipped cockily.

She nodded. "Yeah. The closeness, the feeding each other, the heat in this room right now…" She trailed off, knowing he got the idea.

He kissed her, then moved her to the side. "How do you think they're doing in there?"

Olivia peeked out of the open archway into the living room. "No one's dead or bleeding," she said.

"So far so good then," he laughed. "Melinda was pretty pissed off, huh?"

"She assumed Casey and Fin had been together while he was with her," Olivia said. "They've been together for about eight months, Casey's eight months pregnant, I would have jumped to the same conclusion."

Elliot turned. "He was with Casey, twice, the week before he asked Melinda out on their first date. Twice. Two times, and he got her pregnant." He shook his head and bit his lip. "What the hell are we doing wrong?"

She laughed and said, "Please, don't start. You're the most fertile man on the planet. It's probably me, El. Besides, how many times have we said…"

"I know what we've said, but you and I both know we're just trying to make ourselves feel better," he said with a sigh. "A baby wouldn't be a bad thing. Thanks to my mother, we're ready, but I'm torn. I wanna wait, but I don't, ya know? I wanna have kids with you, right now, and part of me wants to keep you all to myself for a while. I can't make an absolute decision on this."

She kissed him slowly. "Neither can I, but as you always say, it isn't our decision to make. Someone else decides when to give us a child, right? Maybe He just knows I'm not prime mother material right now." She kissed him again, before he could protest, and said, "He wants me to learn how to make more than just chicken so the poor kid doesn't starve."

He laughed and kissed her one more time. "Okay. Leave it up to God. Subject dropped," he said with a sigh. "Take the plates out, I'll get the food. Let's just eat and deal with this Fin thing."

She grabbed the stack of plates and pile of silverware and headed into the dining room. She placed them around the table, in front of the chairs, and her heart broke a bit at the empty, plateless seats. She missed the kids, and she was thankful it was Sunday and they'd be back after school on Monday.

Elliot walked in, putting the serving dishes on the hotplates. "Baby, can you go in there and see what's up with them? They're being way too quiet right now."

Olivia cocked her head to the side as she watched him walk back into the kitchen. She took a breath and walked out to where Fin and Melinda were talking. "Are you guys…okay?"

Melinda looked at her, her tone cold and expression blank. "What do you think?" She folded her arms and said, "What would you do if Elliot had a kid with someone else."

"He had four of them," Olivia answered. "That was before he was with me, Mel. Just like Casey was before you. It was an accident, you know he would…"

"He never even told me," Melinda interrupted. "I think that bothers me more than anything." She turned to Fin and folded her arms. "You were with someone I knew, a friend, and a week later you jump into this with me? How can you do that, Fin?"

"Mel," Fin began, "Casey was just…it was sex. It was two people at a bar on a Friday night who didn't want to go to bed alone. It wasn't…I wasn't in love with her, she wasn't in love with me, ya know, sometimes sex happens without a whole lot of thought or feeling behind it."

Melinda dropped her arms and her mouth fell open slightly. "I never thought you'd be that…"

"I am," Fin shrugged as he cut her off. "I was. Before you, I was. I was a single guy in New York with a badge and a big gun, Mel! That right there says I like power, I like control, I like livin' dangerously. I had one-night-stands, and I had week-longs flings with girls whose names I didn't even know." He reached for her hand and said, "But you…you knocked me off my feet. I feel in love with you, I'm being careful not to fuck that up and I've been faithful to you since day one, you're it for me now."

Melinda softened a bit. "Fin, I'm…"

"Dinner's ready," Elliot said, interrupting what was either an apology or a new fight.

Fin sighed as he got up and walked into the dining room. "It looks good, man," he said, taking a seat.

"I didn't cook," Elliot said. "this is all Liv's doing," he beamed, pride dripping out of every pore.

Melinda looked at Olivia and said, "You cooked? This looks incredible."

"I just did what he told me to do," Olivia said modestly. She shrugged as she sat next to Elliot. "I really didn't do anything."

"You made a beautiful dinner, baby," Elliot said, kissing her.

Melinda made a grumbling noise. "Don't say that word."

"What, dinner?" Elliot questioned.

"No," Melinda snapped. She turned to Fin and harshly hissed, "Baby."

Olivia shot Elliot a look, raised an eyebrow, and under the table, she clutched his hand. She thanked God they didn't have that problem, or any problems, and she was pretty sure they never would.

When Fin and Melinda had finally gone home, only after yelling until they cried, kissed, and made up, then fought again on the way to their cars, Olivia and Elliot cleaned up. They changed, then washed the dishes together, the process turning into a water and soap fight to end all others. Soaked and sudsy, they walked toward their bedroom, laughing and stealing sweet kisses along the way.

He pulled her through their bedroom door, happily leading her to the bed, and he sighed when they fell into each other as they hit the mattress. "I love you," he whispered, almost cooing.

"I love you, too," she replied, looking deep into his eyes. She nuzzled close to him, feeling safe in his arms.

He fumbled for a minute as he pulled the covers over them and rolled them over, holding her tighter. He reached an arm out and turned out the light, and Elliot chuckled. He was about to make good on his promise to cook something else, and it was going to be even more delicious than dinner.

* * *

Their playful romanticism carried thorough the morning, as they laughing at absolutely nothing and random kissing and touching made getting dressed and off to work enjoyable.

The drive to the station was spent with the pair singing along to the radio, even when they didn't know the words, and laughing at each other's silly "red-light" dances. It was a light mood that came from nowhere, and they were happy for no reason at all other than being with each other.

It all changed the minute they walked into the squad room.

"Who died?" Elliot asked, looking around at the somber faces he was met with, and the spattering of detectives cleaning out their lockers and desks.

Munch sighed and shook his head. "Cragen got our work-up results back. He's transferring people left and right, and Carter was forced into retirement because he has a heart condition that went undiagnosed for three years."

Olivia furrowed her brow, folded her arms, and asked, "Jesus. How thorough were these things compare to last year, they never caught it before?"

"Physical and psychological exams were pretty routine," Elliot shrugged. "I guess, now, they're covering their own asses for insurance purposes. No one on the squad who might suddenly drop dead."

"Benson!" Cragen yelled. "I need you in here for a minute."

Olivia's heart crawled into her throat. "What?" she asked, taking steps as slowly as she could. There was something wrong with her, she was about to lose her job because of something she said to Huang, she knew it. "Look, Cap, if this about the...I mean, he asked about my relationship with my mother and I…

"This isn't about your psych eval, Olivia." Cragen looked at her, narrowed his eyes, and said, "I need to ask you about something, and I want the truth. Are you and Elliot expecting a…"

"No!" she yelled. "Captain, I swear, I am not pregnant," she said. "If someone else called and…"

"No one called, and you don't have any more little gifts," he interrupted. "I just needed to know that you, as far as you know, didn't lie to me on Saturday."

Olivia squinted. "If I was pregnant…Cap…Don," she said, her voice softening and her eyes glazing over. "If I was pregnant, I wouldn't hide it. Especially not from you."

"I know you wouldn't. You two want kids, don't you?" Cragen asked, knowing full well they did.

She nodded. "More than anything, but we're just not really sure if now is…we don't think it's the right time for a baby. We haven't been able to decide," she shrugged.

"Decisions already been made for you," Cragen said. He smirked, then, and handed her her medical report. "Congratulations, Olivia."

She was confused for a brief moment, then she looked down at the printout in her hands. "How did…but I knew, I mean, I couldn't have…"

"This is good news," Cragen said. "You're gonna be a great mother." He watched her face tilt up and met her watery eyes. He pulled her into a fatherly hug and said, "You're on a desk, starting now. Paperwork, working with the victims, nothing else. Not unless I'm sure it's safe."

She hugged him back as her smile grew and a tear fell. And she could hear Bernie's voice, loud and clear and filled with Stabler arrogance in her mind, saying the four words no one ever wanted to hear. "I told you so."

**A/N: How does Elliot react? What about Bernie? A wedding and…a funeral? Next! Review here or on Twitter: TMG212 **


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Elliot reacts. So does Bernie. Someone gets a step closer to being married, and someone dies. Kind of…. **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters/ideas belong to Dick Wolf. Original plot and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

"You were quiet today," Elliot said, chewing on a bite of potato. They were eating off of Styrofoam plates, curled together on the couch. It had been a long day, and Olivia was less chatty than usual, only answering his questions with small noises. Elliot, still not getting an answer, poked her with the end of his fork. "Baby?"

"Yes," Olivia nodded.

"What's the matter with you tonight?" he asked, tilting his head.

"That," she answered, spearing a bit of steak with her fork.

He was confused. "What?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Baby," she whispered, still finding it hard to believe.

He put his plate down on the coffee table and turned her body toward his. "Will you please use more than one word? Can you tell me, in one complete sentence, what is wrong with you?"

She looked at him, her eyes shimmering in the dim living room light, and she said, "A baby. A baby is what's wrong with me, El. I'm…"

She didn't get to finish telling him. As soon as the word, "Baby," fell of her tongue, his was in her mouth, trying to kiss her into oblivion.

He wrapped both arms around her, thankfully avoiding the plate of food still in her lap, and he mumbled "I love you" over and over as he struggled to maintain their frantic kiss. He finally pulled away, breathless, and asked, "Really? You're sure?"

She nodded, her lips stinging. "That's what Cragen wanted to tell me. That's what was wrong with my workup. He…"

"He told you?" Elliot said, smirking. "So it's a sure thing, then. A doctor actually ran a test and it came back positive and we're the proud owners of a brand new baby."

She laughed. "I doubt it has leather interior and white-wall tires, but yeah."

He chuckled and kissed her again. "This is good," he said. "This is…this is so damn good, baby." He pressed his lips to hers, and he felt himself rolling his eyes and groaning before it happened.

"What?" she asked, worried that it had to do with her.

He shook his head and sighed. "My mother is never gonna let us forget this," he said. "I can hear it all now. 'I told you so, why don't you ever listen to your mother? You thought I was crazy, but a mother's instinct is never wrong," he chanted in a pretty accurate imitation of Bernie's voice.

"That was scary," Olivia said, with one eyebrow raised. "Never do that again."

He laughed again, and he kissed her sweetly. "That won't be a problem." He ran a hand through her hair, over her head and down her back, and he said, "Well, you know what we have to do now."

She nodded. "Everything's ready, two and a half weeks from now you're gonna have yourself a second wife."

He smirked and pulled her closer, using one hand to bring the dinner plate off of her lap and next to his on the table. "I am," he said. "And you're gonna be someone's second wife."

"That sounds…really bad," she laughed. "But I couldn't be happier about it."

He chuckled as he kissed her again, pulling her into his lap, wrapping her around his body, and drinking in the moment. The moment he'd become a father for the fifth time, the moment he realized it never felt any less amazing, and the moment he knew she was well and truly with him for life.

* * *

The next morning, things were off to a perfect start. They'd awakened with smiles on their faces, wrapped around each other, Elliot's hand splayed over Olivia's non-existent baby bump.

They showered, among other bathroom activities, and then made their way into the kitchen. They met the kids, dressed and eating already, and each grabbed a cup of coffee and muffin from the bowl on the counter.

Olivia noticed the kids looking at her. "What?" she asked, a mouthful of oat-bran.

Maureen shrugged. "You can't tell by looking at you," she said.

Kathleen hummed. "You really can't, you're not any bigger than you usually are."

Olivia looked at Elliot and raised her eyebrows. He looked back at her just as surprised. "I didn't tell them!" he yelled.

"Grandma's here," Dickie said, pointing toward the door to the den. "She told us. Are you really having a baby, this time?"

Olivia and Elliot chuckled. "Yeah," Elliot said, nodding and smiling. "We are."

The kids erupted in cheering noises. They each ensconced their father and Olivia in tight hugs, and then left the room, heading out of the house to their respective schools.

Elliot turned to Olivia, then, and he sighed. "Might as well get this over with."

She nodded and took his hand as they walked into the den. "We only have about five minutes," she whispered to him.

He nodded, and called into the room, "Mom?"

"Hello, dear," Bernie said from her spot on the reclining chair. "I suppose you have something you'd like to tell me?"

Olivia smirked. Bernie was a trip sometimes. "Yeah, we do."

"Liv's pregnant, Mom," Elliot said, "But you knew that, didn't you?"

Bernie turned her head and grinned. "Yes, I did," she said with a nod.

Elliot waited for it. But when it didn't come, he tilted his head. "That's it? No 'I told you so?' No, 'Listen to your mother,' no 'This is what you get for doubting me?"

"I don't have to say it, Elliot," Bernie said with a shrug. "You clearly already know it all."

He laughed and shook his head. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, dear," Bernie said. She looked at Olivia with a smile and said, "All three of you."

Olivia smiled back warmly, and took Elliot's hand. "We have to go…"

"I know you do," Bernie interrupted. "I will be here when you get back."

Elliot leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered.

Bernie looked at her son, smiled, and nodded once. "What are mothers for?"

With a twinkle in their eyes, Olivia and Elliot left, heading off to work, hoping the day would stay as good as it started.

Once they got to the precinct, though, they realized it wouldn't be, not at all. With Olivia resigned to a desk for the next six months, Elliot had to take calls by himself, or with Fin and Munch, and he kept calling them "Liv."

"Force of habit," he explained. But it only got worse. He got irritated at one of their suspects, Fin had to hold him back. He got pissed off at an uncooperative doctor, Munch had to keep him from hitting him. His temper was short today, and no one could figure out why.

Until he got back to the squad room, and he saw her, and his demeanor changed. She calmed him down by just being in the same room with him. He sat across from her and sighed, and he mumbled something about it being the day from hell.

"It's only getting worse," Olivia said, handing him a file.

Elliot took it, opened it, and he squinted. "Um…obviously he's not…"

"Yeah," Olivia said, nodding. "That's what I've been trying to tell every reporter and cop that's called since you guys left." She picked up the ringing phone, waited, and said, "No, I assure you he is alive and well and in his office." She hung up with a huff and shook her head. "We have a John Doe in the hospital, burned over seventy percent of his body, whose DNA is tied to several open rapes, who had Cragen's old badge in his pocket. This is…"

"This is a message," Elliot interrupted. "But from who?"

"Message?" Olivia questioned. "No, this is just plain stupid." She picked up the phone, spat, "Cragen's fine!" and almost hung up. "Oh…hi, Kathy. Yeah, yeah, you can still pick the kids up tonight. You did? You are? Good. Great. No, I'll tell him. Bye."

"I'm guessing that was Kathy?" Elliot quipped.

She chuckled. "She said she'd rather have the kids now, so she can have them back on Friday, so we can spend the weekend before the wedding together. And she said she was able to get the day off, and she's coming."

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Kathy is coming to the wedding? Our wedding? My ex-wife is coming to our wedding?"

"Yeah," Olivia said. She looked up as Cragen came out of the office. "Hey," she said, nodding once at him.

"Problem solved," he said, handing them a mug-shot. "Spencer Thomas. Thirty-nine. He was arrested a few years ago for breaking in and rummaging through the boxes in the basement. He must have found my old badge and ID in a box of my things that were still down there, and according to his rap sheet, he was impersonating an officer for the last three years with it. That's probably how he got to most of his vics."

"Okay," Olivia said, handing the photo to Elliot. "So, is the case closed now? We know who he is, so…"

"No," Cragen sighed. "This case just got even worse. I'm having someone in Cold Cases bring in a box of files his DNA hit on, and another box that all have a similar MO." He leaned over and said, "Promise me, you will not overreact, you will handle this professionally."

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Olivia's mother came up in the computer as a possible match," Cragen said.

Olivia's eyes widened. "His DNA was in her rape kit? I thought you said he was only Thirty-Nine," she said, confused.

Cragen shook his head. "No, Olivia. He, uh, also came back a partial match…to you."

"Wait, how could running his DNA through the system lead you to…" she stopped. "Oh, my God," she said, her eyes dropping as she turned her head toward Elliot. She met his apologetic and concerned eyes, and shook her head.

He reached for her hand as he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"If I didn't have enough issues with my mother," she mumbled. "Now I have to deal with this?"

Cragen patted her on the shoulder. "It could be wrong, Olivia. It could just be a coincidence."

She shook her head. "A big fucking coincidence," she said. "My mother was raped, had me, the product of that rape. Now this guy turns up, a rapist who probably just got what he deserved, and his DNA gets a hit on my mother, and me?" She ran her hands through her hair. "I've got a brother."

**A/N: Twist! The Wedding is NEXT! Review here or on Twitter: TMG212. **


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: "Many women believe their maternal instinct kicks in at the moment of conception. Unfortunately, in many cases, it's just gas."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler©**

Olivia woke up in the middle of the night. She rolled out of bed, out from under Elliot's arm, and she padded into the kitchen. She shuffled some things around in the freezer, finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She grabbed the pint of ice cream and a spoon, then walked over to the couch.

She flopped into it, hearing it groan beneath her, and she popped the lid off of the container. Digging into the cream with her spoon, she scooped it up and slid it into her mouth as he eyes looked toward the ceiling. "I had a brother," she said with a mouthful.

"You gave him up, but not me. You kept me, but you didn't want me, either," she said softly, poking at the ice cream again. "I don't get it."

"Maybe she thought it would be easier to love a little girl," Elliot offered from the bedroom doorway. "Little boys tend to look like their fathers, Liv. Maybe she thought she'd get lucky and..."

"Well, apparently, I look just like him, too." She shoveled the spoonful into her mouth and mumbled, "That happens with twins"

He walked toward her, sat next to her with a sigh, and he reached for the tub of ice cream. He took her spoon, ate a bit himself, then offered her more. "In case you haven't noticed, I have some experience with twins."

She chuckled. "Yeah, but you..." she stopped and shook her head. "El, she gave him up, to a good home, with amazing parents, and he still grew up to be just like his...just like our father. It got him killed."

"You didn't read the right file, baby," he said, offering her more ice cream. He licked his own lips as he watched her tongue dart out to scoop it off the spoon. "His home life wasn't all rainbows and lollipops. Your mother gave him up, which was understandable, but the people who adopted him..." He sighed and looked at her. "You don't wanna know. You shouldn't know, you're off this case."

"Tell me," she demanded softly. "Do not deny a pregnant woman anything."

He laughed. "Oh, I know that," he said. He ate some more ice cream and then he looked at her. "They were not a happy couple. They tried for years to have a kid, couldn't, so they adopted. The father...he resented the fact that the boy wasn't his, hit him, smacked him around a lot." He shrugged and said, "He also had a nasty habit of beating up his wife, while the kid watched."

Olivia let out a long sigh. "She gave him up, and he still had a shitty go of it," she said. "We're cursed. My father, the son of a bitch, gave us some kind of karmatic curse."

He laughed and snuggled closer to her. "That's...no, baby. You just got dealt a couple of really shitty hands. You outgrew it, though, right? You survived, and it made you an incredible, strong, beautiful woman."

He kissed her cheek, and then her lips, and he licked them, cleaning the ice cream off of the corners. "My woman. Mother of my child. And tomorrow..." He paused and looked at the clock. "Today," he laughed, "You're gonna be my wife."

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Things have kind of taken a turn for the better, huh? Guess God figured he owed me."

"I'm the one who owes him," he said, brushing her hair back. "For giving you to me before it was too late, for giving me a second chance to get my life right, to make you happy. For blessing us with this baby, and each other, honey. I owe him, big time."

She dropped her head to his shoulder, nuzzled into him, and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too, honey," he said, kissing her forehead. "Now, let's get back to bed so we can wake up and get married."

Olivia chuckled. "I'm really getting married," she said quietly. "Having a baby, getting married...I think I'm living in some kind of alternate universe."

"No, baby," he said, grabbing the empty ice cream container. "We just finally did something right, and we're getting what we deserve."

She slipped her hand into his, let him lead her into the kitchen to throw out the carton, and then she followed him into the bedroom. She crawled into the bed, curled up with him, and closed her eyes. She tried to think of the joy the next day would bring, but her mind was stuck. Thoughts of her mother, and what kind of mother she would be, ran through her mind, overshadowing the pre-wedding jitters and bringing on one hell of a nightmare.

* * *

Her dress was gorgeous, her hair was stunning, even her shoes were extraordinarily fabulous today. It was a small ceremony, a few of Elliot's close family members, mutual friends, and Kathy.

It was the reception that everyone and their mother would be showing up for, people they have never even met in person would be there, and thanks to Serena, they could afford it.

Bernie sat on the very end of the front pew, crying. Kathy sat, her large baby-belly concealed under a flowy green dress, in the same pew. She was between Elliot's brother and her boyfriend, an old friend of Elliot's, and she was staring into the corners of his eyes, hoping he would turn to face her.

It was a lost cause, though. His eyes were glued to Olivia. Her vintage, lace gown hugged every curve of her body, and he couldn't help but stare. He smiled at her as he took her hands.

She squeezed his hands and gave him a smile, ignoring the fact that Kathy was blubbering, wearing Elliot's favorite color, trying to look like she was happy for them. Maybe it was ambient jealousy, a bit of envy of his first wife, but she couldn't help feeling as though Kathy still wanted him.

She shrugged it off, meeting his eyes. The love in them glowed brightly, and he said his vows with a shaking voice. She gave his hands another reassuring squeeze.

He watched her, trying not to cry as she made the same promises he did. He let the tears fall, though, when she got to the end, when she said, "Till death do us part." She had overcome every doubt and every fear for him, and for that he would be eternally grateful.

Dickie stepped forward, handing the rings to his father when the officiator asked for them. Elliot flipped one of Olivia's hands over and placed his ring in her palm, and he took a deep breath. This was it.

Elliot went first, parroting the priest's words, and slipping her ring over her finger. He heard the tiniest little click, and he glanced at his mother. He would never know how she managed to buy the rings, an interlocking set, without him even realizing it. He looked back at Olivia and smiled as he said, "I do, with all my heart."

Olivia returned every sentiment, every promise. She guided the band up his finger, noticing that her hands had stopped shaking. She looked up, meeting his eyes again, and she mirrored his loving smile. "With everything I have," she said with a nod. "I do."

The priest smiled and raised his hands over their hands. "Then by the power vested in me, by God, I now pronounce you man and wife." He watched their faces contort into interesting mixtures of emotions, and he said, "You may kiss your bride, Elliot."

Elliot gripped Olivia's hands tightly, pulled her toward him, and moved his lips so slowly over hers. "I love you," he whispered, finally pressing his mouth against hers. He pulled away for a moment and said, "Both of you." His tears slid down his cheeks as his right hand moved lower, gently resting over her belly, and as he kissed her again, she moaned softly in adoration.

"I love you, too," she said softly, her own tears falling. She vaguely hear the clapping from their onlookers, and she barely saw the bridesmaids and groomsmen filing out, out of the corner of her eye. "We should go," she whispered, still in his arms.

"I don't want to," he said, swaying her gently to music no one else could hear. "I like it here."

She laughed, she kissed him again, and she said, "We have a very expensive party to go to."

He sighed, kissed her once more, and walked with her out of the church. The rice that was tossed at them made them laugh, the cheers and hugs they got made them cry, but the most surprising moment came when they headed toward their limo.

Cragen, standing there holding the car door opened for them, nodded as they slid into the vehicle. He waited until all four kids and the happy couple were comfortable. He turned toward them, pulled an envelope out of his pocket, and handed it to Olivia. "You look beautiful," he whispered. He winked at her and closed the door.

The limo began to move, taking them toward the reception hall, and Elliot took the envelope out of her hands, opening it. "Oh, my God," he said, his eyes wide.

Olivia slid closer trying to look at it. "Did he...he did, didn't he?"

Elliot nodded. "He did," he said. "Guess we don't have to spend anymore of your mother's money on the honeymoon."

Maureen looked at her father. "You could always buy me a new car," she offered.

Elliot made a face at her, then looked back down at the plane tickets in his hand. "This is why he kept ignoring our requests for time off. He had already planned this," he said.

Olivia sniffled, feeling a bit more emotional now. "Italy, El," she said softly. "A week in Italy, alone, just us."

He nodded and kissed her. "Welcome to your new life, Misses Stabler."

She kissed him back, smiling against his lips. It was a life she was looking forward to living, if they survived the reception.

**A/N: Casey, Kathy, and other momma drama! Coming up! Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: "A mother's first priority in life is her children. Then, in most cases, the father of her children. And then it's an amazing pair of heels."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler©**

Olivia had a hard time enjoying the reception. They were so busy talking and thanking people, that dinner had come and gone without them taking a single bite. They hadn't even been able to sit down, as they were kept on the dance floor by friends and the videographer.

Her lips were almost as tired as her feet, since every five seconds some lucky bastard in a chair clanged his glass with his spoon, suggesting the bride and groom kiss. As much as she loved him, it was a pain in the neck to have to kiss him on cue, with everyone watching them.

"I have to pee," Olivia mumbled through a forced smile, posing for yet another picture.

Elliot chuckled, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "Need help?"

"Do I need help peeing? No," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

She pressed her lips together, reading his mind, and said, "Meet me in the bathroom." Someone clinked his or her glass, and then everyone else followed. She rolled her eyes and laughed, then kissed him before running out as fast as she could.

She pushed the door open, jetted to the nearest stall, moved her dress and sat, then sighed in relief. She heard the door open and held her breath for a moment.

"Liv?" his voice called out in a whisper.

"Gimmie a minute," she said, readjusting and flushing. She opened the stall door, walked over to the sink, and washed her hands. "This baby thinks my bladder is a waterbed," she joked.

He smiled. "He's just making himself comfortable," he said.

"You're so sure it's a boy," she replied, shaking her head.

He moved his hands slowly up her body. "I know these things," he said. "Four kids and I've never been wrong."

She kissed him sweetly, and she laughed as she pulled away. "It feels so good not to hear glass and metal clanging around when I do that."

"They're all just excited that we've finally got here, to this point," he said to her, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You look so gorgeous, baby," he whispered, toying with the white flower in her hair.

"You don't look too shabby, either, Stabler," she said with a smile and a wink.

He rested his head on top of hers and said, "I needed to get out of there. Not that I'm not having a blast, it's just..."

"Overwhelming," she finished for him.

He nodded. "There are so many people out there, I don't think I even know half of them. Casey and Melinda are staring each other down like rabid wolves, Kathy keeps crying on everyone, my mother keeps babbling about how she thinks she's psychic, the kids keep asking the DJ to play the same stupid song, my feet are killing me, and I'm starving."

"And yet you're still having a blast," she said sarcastically, looking up at him.

He laughed and nodded again. "With you in my arms, as my wife, hell yeah. It's the best night of my life. So far."

She grinned and fell deeper into his arms. "Your mother...she keeps looking at me funny."

"That's her proud face," he said. "Take advantage of it, it only comes out once every four years." He turned and pushed himself up on the counter, then pulled her up, situating her on his lap. "I've only seen it on graduation days. High School, the Marine Corps, College, then the Police Academy."

"She didn't look at Kathy like this, I take it?" Olivia questioned.

Elliot gave her a look that said 'are-you-kidding,' and shook his head. "She was so pissed off at the both of us. Actually, she and my father had to drink excessively just to get through the night. And Kathy was the target for them both. My father hit on her, my mom just plain hit her...we slept in separate hotel rooms that night. So no, it wasn't exactly my mother's proud face that I saw."

She kissed him and leaned into him. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," he said. "I'm not. It was my mistake to make, honey. I got four amazing kids out of it, and going through it all made me really appreciate what I have with you."

"Mom!" Kathleen yelled, running into the bathroom. "And...Dad?"

"What?" Olivia asked, hopping off of Elliot's lap.

Kathleen shook her head, choosing not to ask why her father was in the women's room with Olivia. "Miss Novak and Doctor Warner are throwing things at each other, and Mom...the other Mom...she took one look at the cake and started bawling. Alan can't get her up off the floor."

Olivia looked at Elliot, who rolled his eyes. "I can't believe this," she mumbled.

"Did you honestly think this was gonna be uneventful?" he asked, taking her hand. They followed Kathleen out of the bathroom, back into the reception hall. "I'll take Kathy."

"Thanks!" Olivia huffed.

"You wanna deal with my crazy, pregnant, hysterical, ex-wife?" he asked, folding his arms.

"There's less of a chance someone will punch me, so yeah," she said, jutting a thumb over to Casey and Melinda, who were pulling each other's hair.

Elliot snickered and said, "Fine. You take the crazy pregnant one, I will take the violent pregnant one." He kissed her and ran over to the two arguing women, looking at Fin and Ryan, who were trying to pull them away from each other. "What the hell happened, here?"

Ryan, losing his grip on a very pregnant Casey, said, "All Casey said was, 'Hi, Fin,' and Melinda flipped!"

Melinda let Elliot push her away from Casey, finally, and took a deep breath. "She's trying to get Fin to..."

"She's carryin' my child, Mel! We have to talk to each other!" Fin interrupted.

Casey grumbled and pulled out of Ryan's arms. "You crazy bitch," she spat at Melinda.

Olivia, having somehow managed to stop Kathy's crying, walked over and looked at her two friends. "Hey!" she yelled. "You two are acting like five-year-olds! Worse than that! You're at my wedding, the only one I will ever have, for God's sake! Can you please try to act like adults before my partner and I arrest you?"

"For what?" Casey asked, folding her arms over her belly.

"Assaulting a police officer's wedding reception," Olivia said, smacking Casey in the arm. "Do you know how much this is costing me? I don't wanna haul my ass down to the station in this dress, either. The guys would never let me hear the end of it."

Casey's anger faded as she laughed, and she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Olivia."

Melinda made a grunting noise. "I'm sorry, too. You deserve better than this. Especially tonight."

"Thank you," Olivia said, pulling Melinda's hair back into the clip she was wearing. "And you know she really didn't mean anything by..."

"I get it," Melinda said, nodding, feeling silly. "I guess it's just...knowing she's having his baby, and that I..."

"You will," Olivia whispered. "You will. Just give it time. Elliot's got miracle sperm, and it took him a long time to knock me up. It'll happen."

Melinda laughed. "You always know what to say to cheer people up," she said. "That's why you're so good at what you do."

Olivia smiled, then nodded at Fin, letting him know it was okay to take her back to their table. Someone clanged a glass again, and Olivia rolled her eyes. She found Elliot, and was about to kiss him, when she noticed who had clanged the glass.

"Mom," Elliot gasped.

Bernie waved at them as she stood up, glass and spoon in hand, and she cleared her throat. "Elliot, my sweet boy," she began. "I've watched you grow up, I've watched you make mistakes and learn from them, and tonight, I have watched you marry your best friend, the only person in the world who knows absolutely everything about you." She heard Kathy sniffle beside her and she shot her a look.

"Sorry," the blonde said, wiping her eyes. "Hormones."

Bernie rolled her eyes and continued. "Olivia, from the moment I met you, I knew this is where you two would end up. I heard my son talk about you, and the smile on his face whenever he mentioned your name was the happiest one I'd ever seen, until tonight. You bring out the best and the worst in him, you give him strength and stability, and you, above all else, give him something to live for." She smiled at her son, who had tears in his eyes. "He does all of that for you, too. A mother always knows, Elliot, and from the moment you first told me she was your new partner, I knew she would be the only reason you woke up in the morning, well, aside from your kids."

Kathy sniffled again, the tears running down her cheeks, and she couldn't honestly blame it all on hormones. She knew Bernie was right.

"To my son, and his reason for living, Olivia. May you always be each other's rock, each other's pillow, and each other's first priority. Those promises are sealed tonight." She raised her glass and said, "And I think I speak for everyone here when I say it's about damned time!"

Everyone raised a glass and toasted, as Elliot and Olivia laughed. They looked at each other, letting his mother's words sink in, and they kissed, without being prompted. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too, baby," he whispered back. He kissed her again as his left hand, adorned with his new gold band, slipped down to her tiny bump. He smiled, knowing he was right about the baby being a boy.

Little did he know, he was only half right.

**A/N: A honeymoon to remember, thanks to Cragen. The kids have more mother issues, which then become Elliot's issues. Bernie's next interference might push Olivia too far, but in what way? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: "Mother's love to love. That's their first job, and favorite hobby."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler©**

"Do you think they're having fun?" Lizzie asked, putting away the dishes.

"They're in Italy. At some ritzy hotel in Rome, or villa in Venice, I can't remember. Alone," Kathy said with a smile. "They're having fun. Trust me."

Maureen finished wiping off the table and sighed. "Do you hate Dad, or do you understand why he..."

"I was a mess," Kathy said. "I was either out of it or he wasn't home, and spending all that time together...I don't care how happily married you are, if you're in tense situations for that many hours a day with someone you feel that kind of connection with..."

Maureen nodded and interrupted. "So you get it."

Kathy nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I left him long before he left me." She rubbed her belly and sighed.

"Be honest, Mom," Kathleen said. "You were with Alan...even without the drugs...weren't you?"

Kathy took a breath and nodded. "He's a good guy."

"Liv's a good woman," Dickie's voice cut in. "If we can all live with you dating my coach, why can't you deal with Dad marrying his partner. We all knew her, loved her, I thought if you'd want him to be with anyone..."

"Honey," Kathy began, "It's because I'm jealous. I always have been. They just get each other the way your father and I never did, or could." She sighed and rubbed her belly again. "I kept hoping she'd leave somehow, but when she didn't..." she shrugged. "Things happened."

Lizzie looked at her mother. "They're okay now, right?" she asked. "You're not gonna try to get Dad back, are you?"

Kathy shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm with Alan, your father…your father made it perfectly clear that he's committed to Olivia." She ran a hand through her hair and said, "Even if I did try anything to get him back, it wouldn't work."

Dickie smiled and folded his arms. "That's right," he said. "Do you…do you know what's you're having?"

Kathy shook her head. "We're waiting to find out. You're father never wanted to wait, you know? He couldn't handle not knowing, he would try to figure it out and I wanted to be surprised, and he argued with me about going to the doctor. He won, every time, because he had to prove that he was right."

"Was he?" Maureen asked.

"Every time," Kathy said with a laugh. "God, he would rub it, too. He would chuckle and smirk all the way home, saying 'I told you so," she said.

Kathleen grinned. "Well, then Liv's in for it," she said.

"What? Why?" Dickie asked. "Because Dad says she's having a boy?"

Kathleen smirked. "Because there's a first time for everything," she said, folding her arms. "And you know Dad's always trying to find new firsts he can share with Liv."

"So you think it's gonna be a girl?" Lizzie asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Kathleen shook her head. "I think it's a boy, but I also know twins run in both sides of the family now. That might be…"

"No," Kathy said. "No way. I'm sure your father would know. He knew the two of you were twins," she said, pointing to Lizzie and Dickie. "And the odds of someone having two sets of twins are slim."

Maureen raised an eyebrow. "Their shots are doubled, now, though." She looked at her brother and shrugged. "Either way, you got another boy to deal with, Dickie."

"Finally," he said, rolling his eyes.

Kathy chuckled. "I think you're gonna have quite a few brothers and sisters, with the way your father and Olivia are with each other."

"Mom!" Maureen gasped.

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know where babies come from," she said. "In the living room. Go." She ushered the kids out of the kitchen and sighed. She prayed that Kathleen was wrong. She didn't mind that they were having a baby, but she wanted to be the only one to give Elliot something as special as twins. She would be very bitter if Olivia did that better than her, too.

* * *

"I can't take another bite," Olivia said, wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin.

Elliot shrugged and reached over to her plate, finishing her food for her. They both laughed and he said, "It's real Italian fettuccini! I'm not gonna let it go to waste because you're full, baby."

She shook her head and sipped her water. "You're just a bottomless pit, don't use not wanting to waste food as an excuse to eat because you're still hungry."

He chuckled. "I'm a growing boy," he said, twirling the fork in the last bit of pasta.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, growing sideways, if you keep eating like that."

"You wanna talk to me about who's not gonna be able to fit into their pants in three months?" he teased.

She tossed her napkin at him. "Jerk," she hissed, laughing through her closed mouth.

He sighed and kissed her forehead. "I couldn't be happier about that, by the way," he whispered, resting a hand over her belly as he scooted closer to her.

The waiter walked over, then, and refilled their glasses. "Anything else, signore?"

Elliot nodded. "My wife and I would like tiramisu, please," he said, nodding at the man.

The man smiled and took their empty plates, then walked away to get their dessert.

Elliot turned to Olivia and nuzzled her neck once the waiter had gone. "You're glowing," he whispered softly. "Absolutely glowing."

"It's ninety-nine degrees and sunny," she joked. "The whole city is glowing."

He chuckled and kissed her, pulling her closer. "You're glowing, because you're a mommy, baby. You're carrying my child, and you're radiating. God, the most beautiful woman in the entire world is mine, do you know how many men get to say that?"

"One," she said, winking as she sipped her water.

"Damn right," he said with a nod. His phone rang, and he rolled his eyes. "Shit," he hissed.

"It's probably the kids," Olivia said. "You've gotta remember the time difference, they're probably heading to bed, and you told them to call before…"

He held his finger to her lips and answered the call. "Stabler," he said. "Hi, Mo. What? Honey, that's…no, no, I don't want you to…why is she crying? Well, give her the ice cream in the…she already ate it. And she's still crying? Well, what made her…twins? Who said we were having…well hit your sister in the head and make your mother laugh!"

Olivia was staring at him, confused. "What happened?" she whispered.

Elliot put his hand over the receiver and said, "Kathleen said she thought you were having twins after dinner, and by the time they were done watching the eleven o'clock news, Kathy was crying hysterically because of it. They can't calm her down and Alan is at work. Maureen wants me to…Hi, Kathy!"

Olivia rolled her eyes and moved her napkin as the waiter dropped down the plate of tiramisu. "Wonderful," she mumbled.

"I don't know, Kathy. We wanna be surprised, so we aren't gonna…what did I say?" he said, shocked because Kathy had just let out a loud wail. "Hello? What is…Dickie? What just happened? I don't know, just…make her watch Finding Nemo or something. Well, it works with the crying kids at work. I don't want you guys calling us about this stuff, we're on our…okay, goodnight. I love you guys."

She watched him hang up and shook her head. "She was that upset because one of the kids said something about us having twins?"

"That's what set her off, but then it was all the photos hanging up, reminding her that we're happy without her," he said. "Then I…I said we were waiting to find out, definitely, and she went off again. She's upset because I never wanted to wait with her."

"Why do you wanna wait with me?" she asked. She stuck her fork into the flaky, creamy cake, and lifted the bit to his lips.

He ate it, moaning in satisfaction. "That's good," he said, pointing at the dessert. He swallowed and licked his lips, then took the fork and fed her.

"Answer the question," she said, before she swept the treat off of the fork. "Wow," she said, "That's amazing."

He nodded and ate a bit more, then he said, "I wanna wait with you…because I never waited. I always just knew, and because I wanted to prove I was right, I made her find out. I feel like I missed out on the full experience. This is your first baby, and I wanna give you everything that goes along with it, I wanna experience it all with you, for the first time."

She smiled lovingly at him as her eyes warmed. She held up more tiramisu, waving it in front of his face.

He laughed and grabbed at the fork with his mouth, growling a bit. "Temptress," he chided.

"Yes, I am," she said with a wicked grin. "Wait till you see what I brought along tempt you with when we get back to the villa."

He raised an eyebrow, then looked around quickly. He shot his hand into the air and said, "Check, please!"

She laughed at his reaction, and shook her head. "Ya know, maybe I should teach you some Italian while we're here."

"You can teach me anything you want," he said, kissing her, handing the waiter his credit card. "I promise to pay attention."

She took his hand, caressing his knuckles as she looked at him. Then she furrowed her brow. "You…you don't think we're having twins, do you?"

He took the last sip of his water, signed the receipt the waiter had just handed him, and took his credit card back. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

She rolled her eyes, getting out of her seat, and let him pull her away from the sidewalk café and down the stone road. As they passed the small shops in the rustic city, she took a deep breath. It was so much simpler here, so different from the city.

"I know what you're thinking," he said, catching the look in her eyes. "We have the money, thanks to Cragen and your mother."

She looked at him. "You think we should?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It would be a great place to come in the summer, and when the kids have winter break," he said, thinking about it. "We could rent it out the rest of the year, make a little extra money. I mean, we have five kids we need to put through college, so far."

"So far?" she questioned, chuckling.

"Yeah, this is not our one and only baby, baby." He laughed and kissed her, and he said, "Tomorrow we'll talk to a few people, see if there are any cute little places around here."

"Have I told you I love you yet?" she asked, stopping and smiling.

"Well, you married me yesterday," he said. "That kinda says it."

She kissed him and tugged on his hand, pulling him further down the road. "I'd marry you again in a heartbeat," she said. She smiled when he ran a hand over her belly, and kissed her cheek. "I love you," she whispered. "Just in case it wasn't clear."

"I love you too," he said into her ear. He led her down the road, heading toward their villa, and he smiled. He couldn't wait to show her how much he loved her. He wanted to keep the bad news away from her for a little while longer, and forget what his mother had done for the rest of the week.

It could wait until they got home, he thought. But of course, someone would let the cat out of the bag a little early.

**A/N: What has Bernie done? Is Elliot really going to be able to wait to find out what they're having? And an Italian evening, as only they can have. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: A night in Italy, a morning in New York, and Bernie's last surprise. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler©**

"El," Olivia mumbled, her head lolling to the side as he kissed and bit her neck. "El, we…we've done nothing but…God, that feels amazing, but…"

"Shh," he said, bringing a finger to her lips as he continued gnawing at her delicate skin. He moaned when he felt her nip at his finger, then suck it into her mouth. "Damn," he seethed quietly, licking just behind her ear.

She smirked. "You drive me crazy," she said, rolling the tip of her tongue around just the tip of his finger.

"Just getting even," he groaned. He pulled his finger out of her mouth, feeling her teeth scrape along the sides. He let out an almost painful sounding noise as he spun her around, pulling her onto his lap.

"Ya know, you're spoiling me," she said, grinding her hips, forcing her pelvis into his hardness.

"I am?" he murmured, his lips pressing into the very center of her chest. "How?"

She smirked, kissing the top of his head. "Spending our days outside, in this amazing country, shopping and eating," she said. "Then coming back here and spending all night naked, having the most mind-blowing sex."

He struggled with the sheet, keeping her flesh from his, and he yanked it out from between them with a growl. "I'm not spoiling you, this is life now, Liv." He pulled her down to him by the back of her neck and kissed her. "We do this every night."

She moaned a bit and pulled away from him as he tried to push her up to turn them over. "Not like this," she said. "There's work, and then we're too exhausted to go at like this."

He scoffed. "We are not," he said. "Not all the time."

She chuckled. "That's exactly what I'm saying," she said. "I'm gonna be expecting it to be like this, all the time."

He kissed her and pushed into her, groaning. He said, "I'm gonna do my best to live up to those expectations," he whispered, his lips brushing over her suddenly halted pulse. "I love you."

She dug the pads of his fingers into his lower back, feeling his muscles contract and release as he moved into and out of her. She moaned out an, "I love you, too," as her eyes closed.

He nudged her nose with his, getting her to open her eyes, and he smiled at her. He held her gaze as long as he could, before it became too hard to keep his eye opened. He squeezed them shut and bit his lip as his head flew back.

She watched in amazement, the sight of him like that almost pushing her over the edge; it was the most breathtaking sight she'd ever seen. She held on to see him drop his head again, and she met his eyes as she felt his fingertips trailing up and down her body. If felt like the spoke of a wheel dragging along pavement, leaving sparks in its wake. She moaned as his hand cupped her cheek, and she caught her breath just in time for him to slam his mouth over hers.

He shot into her, moaning and grunting into their kiss, and he felt her tighten and vibrate around him, making it last longer than he thought it would. He moved slowly, making sure he was dragging it out for her, too, as he kissed her.

Done, spent, thoroughly satisfied, they collapsed deeper into the bed, and each other, and Elliot tugged her arm, rolling them over. "I don't wanna go home," he panted. "I don't wanna get out of this bed."

She laughed and said, "We can come back whenever we want." She kissed his chin and the corner of his mouth and said, "This place is ours now."

He sighed and nodded. "Don't make any plans for Christmas." He winked at her, pressed his lips to hers, and hoped the feeling would return quickly to the rest of his body. He wasn't finished with her, yet.

* * *

"Get up!" Kathy yelled, throwing a clean shirt at her son.

Dickie rolled over in the bed and moaned, "Why?"

"Because I told your father we would meet him at the airport, and their flight lands in a few hours," she said. "Now get up."

Dickie whined as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and folded his arms. "You're not gonna cry when you see them, are you?"

Kathy sighed. "Honestly, I might," she said. "I cry at the drop of a hat these days. Especially where your father's concerned." She walked out of the boy's room and knocked on her daughter's door. "Katie? Maury? You guys getting dressed?"

"Yeah," Kathleen's voice called back.

Kathy heard them mumbling, so she opened the door a bit. She heard Kathleen say, "I can't wait to see her! I have to tell her about Kevin."

Maureen laughed. "Oh, she's gonna love the story I have to tell her about Eugene!"

"The geek in your Physics class?" Kathleen asked.

"Uh, he is a geek no more, my friend," Maureen replied. "Liv told me to suggest that he get a haircut, and he walked into class last week with…"

Kathleen stopped her. "Are you…wait, Gene is…"

"Yes," Maureen said, nodding. "I'm going to see a movie with him on Friday, if Mom and Dad say it's okay."

"Why wouldn't I say it's okay?" Kathy asked, thinking the conversation was about her.

Maureen looked at her for a moment. "I…I was talking about…"

"We were just talking about the things we had to tell Liv," Kathleen said. "We missed her and Dad this week."

Kathy nodded, her lip caught between her teeth. "Oh," she said. "Okay then. Well, hurry up and get dressed. The sooner we get to the airport, the sooner you'll see them, right?"

Kathleen and Maureen nodded, then turned their backs to her to finish dressing. Kathy closed the door, and she stopped out in front of Lizzie's door. She knocked.

"Yeah?" Lizzie's voice called.

Kathy walked in slowly, and she asked, "How are you?"

"Good," Lizzie said, standing. "Ready to go."

Kathy stopped her and asked, "You forgive me, right?"

Lizzie tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You forgive me, for everything I did, don't you?" Kathy asked again, her eyes filling with hot tears.

"We know it wasn't all you," Lizzie said softly. "It wasn't your fault, most of it, but Alan…you were cheating on Dad," she said with a shrug. "Things might have been different if Grandma hadn't gotten in the way, but you were still…"

"Yeah," Kathy said, sniffling. "But it's okay now, right? You still…I'm still your mother."

Lizzie wiped a falling tear off Kathy's cheek. "You are," she said. "But we have another mother, too. You have to let her in, and you have to let us love her, too." She looked at her mother and said, "How can you expect us to love Alan if you're so reluctant to give a bit of us to Liv?"

Kathy stopped crying. She looked at her daughter and she said, "You're right. I guess I…"

"Mom! Let's go!" Dickie called. "I have a game on Saturday, and if they land early they can help me with my fly ball before lunch!"

Kathy turned and laughed. "All right," she said, walking out of Lizzie's room, followed by the youngest girl. She was starting to accept that she had to share everything now, but she wasn't starting to like it.

* * *

Bernie watched, holding her breath, as the doorknob turned. The minute she saw the white's of her son's eyes, she shouted, "Surprise! Welcome home!"

Elliot, now covered in confetti, shook his head. "Thanks, Mom. How long have you…wow, uh, this is not what I meant when I said you could redecorate!" He looked around the room and was absolutely floored.

"You don't like it?" Bernie asked.

"What do you mean, you told her she could redecorate?" Olivia asked, her arms folded, her luggage on the floor at her feet.

Elliot looked at her. "Before we left, Mom said she had a few ideas on how to move the furniture around. I told her to do it." He shook his head. "I didn't mean…"

"Nothing has sharp corners," Bernie interrupted. "It's all new, modern, splinter-free. The pain is non-toxic and lead-free, and the sofa…just sit on this thing," she said, plopping into it herself. "I almost bought one for myself."

Olivia ran a hand through her hair. "Nothing in this…we just bought all new…Elliot, what did she…"

"Mom," Elliot said, sitting next to her. "Wow, this is…this is really soft, but we just bought new furniture. What did you do with…"

"You have to see the basement," Bernie said with a big smile. "All of your old furniture is down there, I put in a new carpet, and finally fixed that fireplace that hasn't worked since you bought the place."

"It looks great, Dad," Dickie said, nodding. "All of the video games are down there now."

Elliot squinted, afraid to ask. "Then what is upstairs in the…"

"Well, I had to do some moving around of things. Your bedroom, Elliot, it needed to be closer to the nursery, so…"

"So you moved our bedroom to where the game room was?" Olivia asked, trying to understand.

Bernie nodded. "And I knocked out that wall, put in a new bathroom, and put a door from the nursery to your new room."

Elliot's eyes widened, and without saying anything, he ran up the stairs. "Oh, no ya don't," Olivia said, running after him. He opened the door to what was now their bedroom and he gasped. "Holy mother of…"

"Elliot!" Bernie scolded, stopping her son from using a blasphemous term.

Elliot chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "Exactly."

**A/N: So what is in the room? What is so surprising about it? And a doctor's visit changes things! Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: "Mothering is not taught or inherited. It is learned from within, self-taught by the heart and the child that has created its mother."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the characters. That's pretty much it. Everything else written before you is pure TStabler©**

Elliot let his eyes dance around the room, taking in the brighter, cleaner color and the rich, dark wood of the new furniture. He smiled at the photos on the wall over the bed, black and white reprints of their wedding pictures. Then his eyes dropped to the very large, welcoming bed. "That bed is…"

"Huge," Olivia interrupted.

Bernie grinned. "It's a king, and there are controls to make it softer or firmer on both sides, so when she isn't comfortable you don't have to suffer," she told her son. "And it's big so when the kids get older, and they want to sleep in the bed with the two of you, there'll be plenty of room."

Elliot looked at his mother and shook his head. "Mom, you didn't have to do this," he said.

Bernie just rolled her eyes and gave him a shove. "Go on," she said.

He rounded the corner and turned, and he squeezed Olivia's hand as he gasped. "What the hell is all of this?"

Olivia ran a hand over one of the matching cribs in the nursery. "Two…we don't need two…"

"I think you do," Bernie said, cutting her off. She had a wicked grin on her face and smiling eyes. "Just because you wanted to be surprised, that doesn't mean I could wait six months."

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "What did you do?" he asked.

She chuckled and said, "I had a nice chat with your doctor, and he seems to think, by the hormone levels and such, that you're having…"

"I don't think so," Elliot said, shaking his head. "It's just not…there's no way that could be…that's insane!"

Dickie laughed at his father's reaction. "Only one way to find out, right? Go see him, Dad. You don't have to ask him if they're boys or girls, just ask how many there are."

Elliot shot his son a glare. "You don't think I would know? I've always had feelings about my kids, and nothing, right now, tells me that she's having twins."

Bernie raised an eyebrow. "Elliot," she said, folding her arms.

Olivia looked at her, knowing that look, and she turned to Elliot. "Spill it," she said.

"Maybe I do, all right? Part of me thinks it could be twins, but the rational part of brain tells me that the odds of having a second set of twins, with a different woman, are pretty fucking slim."

"Watch your language!" Bernie scolded.

Elliot scrunched his face up at her. "Mom, I am a grown man, and the kids are old enough to watch cable!"

"You have two children here who are only beginning to hear, and you don't want that to be the kind of language they're exposed to in the womb," Bernie chastised.

Olivia pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. "Listen to your mother, Elliot."

"Elliot?" he questioned, smirking. "It's 'Elliot' now?" He chuckled and moved his hands to her belly, tickling mercilessly. She laughed and flailed, falling into his arms. "Ha! Got you right where I want you," he mumbled to her, kissing her.

"Grandma," Dickie said, "Can you yell at him again? If we're not old enough to hear him swear, we shouldn't have to be exposed to this, either."

The room burst into laughter, and Elliot looked at his mother and sighed. "Mom, honestly, I don't know if we are having twins or not, but what you did in here…it's amazing. Thank you."

"Things are the way they should be, now, Elliot," Bernie said, smiling back at him. "I'm doing for you what I refused to do when you were with Kathy, because I knew it wouldn't last. I knew it wasn't real. I knew eventually the right woman would come along and show you that."

Elliot let go of Olivia and walked over to his mother, hugging her. "I love you, Mom," he whispered.

Olivia watched the display, and she looked toward the ceiling with a sigh. She closed her eyes and wished, even though it hurt to, that she could have the chance to do what Elliot had done. That she could repair the broken and shattered relationship she had with her mother.

"Liv?" Elliot called, breaking her reverie, "You coming?"

She nodded, taking his hand and following him down the stairs, into the redesigned living room. Her family was together, and that was all that mattered. Her thoughts could wait.

* * *

They took the kids and Bernie out for lunch, with a quick stop at their doctor at Mercy General. They let the man take blood and run some tests, but they didn't stay for the results, wanting to live in sweet oblivion for as long as they could.

The ride home was pleasant, as the kids filled them in on everything they'd missed. Olivia laughed at Maureen's story about Gene, and they gave her permission to go out with him. Dinner was wonderful, a meal made with love by Bernie. The dishes were washed and put away, and by nine-thirty, Dickie had mastered every pitch in the history of baseball, thanks to the rousing family game in the yard.

With the kids in their rooms and Bernie gone, the house was quiet. Olivia was lying on the couch, her head in Elliot's lap as he played with her hair with one hand and held a bottle of cold beer with the other. He sipped, swallowed, and sighed.

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

"By the time this kid is walking, Maureen and Kathleen will be out of college, and Lizzie and Dickie will be high school seniors. That's…it's weird."

She laughed and said. "Well, I'm good with weird."

He smiled down at her. "I'm not complaining, not at all, I just…it's because I had the other kids so young, ya know? Maybe my mother's been right the whole time. The eighteen years I spent with Kathy, they were just the hurdles I needed to jump over to grow up, so I could be the man I needed to be, for you."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's one way of looking at it," she said. "Like a Catholic."

He grinned. "How does my atheistic wife look at it?"

"I don't really know, El," she said. "I know you had an amazing life, with amazing kids, but things happened, and things changed. I don't know if it was God or fate or a really bad case of indigestion, but we gave up everything for each other."

"And now we have everything, don't we?" he asked with a smirk. He bent his head, bringing hers up just a bit, and kissed her softly.

"We do," she whispered back, smiling brightly. "Have you thought of names?"

He laughed and said, "Honey, no. Not yet. Have you?"

"I was thinking about one…you're gonna think it's silly." She shook her head.

"Tell me," he said, brushing her hair back again.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I was thinking Gwen, if it was a girl. I mean, you have Elizabeth and Richard…King Richard, Queen Elizabeth...they had a daughter named Gwen, right?"

"Guinevere," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Liv, you…that's sweet." He laughed and said, "Guinevere Stabler, though? Maybe something more like…Serena."

"Do you want me to shoot you?" she asked, looking up at him. "I loved her and all, but no way. Too much bad blood there." She let her hand tangle with his and they rested on her belly. "What about Lily, or Lorelei?"

He cupped her chin and pulled her head up again. "You have your heart set on naming our child after a literary heroine, don't you?" he asked with a laugh and a kiss to her forehead. "My little bookworm," he teased. He let her head drop back to his lap, and he sighed. "Do you miss him?"

"Who?" she asked, confused.

He twisted his lips, a cross between a shy smile and a grimace. "Ed."

"Are you nuts?" she asked. "No, El, I don't. I haven't even thought about him as anything more than just the IAB sergeant since you slept in my bed and held me that night. You made me feel more wanted and needed that night than he ever did, or could."

"Because I wanted and needed you more," he whispered. "You could tell just by the way I held you that night."

She nodded. "I wanted you, too. Needed you more than I've ever needed anyone. I still do."

He pulled her up to a sitting position, and he cupped her face. "Ditto," he whispered, kissing her. His hands ran down over her swelling belly, and he sighed into her mouth. Things were falling into place, quickly and quietly, naturally. "I love you," he whispered.

She grinned as her mouth pressed against his, and as she ran her tongue over his bottom lip, nibbled and pulled, she said, "Show me."

He chuckled, a low and slightly evil sound, and he pulled her off of the couch, and he headed up the stairs into their new room, dropping her lightly onto their new bed.

She held him down as he stripped her clothes off, but he freed himself and traveled down her body, peeling away her layers. She watched him move and she sighed as he pressed his lips against her belly, her hands running through his hair.

"I love you, too," he said. "No matter how many of you there are in there."

She chuckled, her heart warming over, and she waited for him to make his way back up to her to kiss him, making him keep his promise to live up to her new expectations.

* * *

"Kathy," a young doctor from a different ward called to her, over the desk.

The woman looked up and smiled. "Doctor Reynolds," she said, "What can I do for you?"

The doctor handed her an envelope. "You know Detectives Stabler and Benson, odds are they'll be in here sometime between midnight and three in the morning, and I'm on my out. Will you just make sure they get that?"

She took the envelope and nodded. "Results for one of their cases?" she asked, picking up a pen to write the contents on the chain of custody form.

"Uh, no," Doctor Reynolds said. "It's personal. Thank you, Kathy. And I hope you plan on enjoying your maternity leave, my girl."

Kathy nodded, but didn't smile. She looked down at the envelope and suddenly grew concerned. They had been here to see the doctor, on the same day they came home from their honeymoon. Something must be wrong, she thought. Without hesitation, she opened the envelope, hoping to quell her own fears for Olivia and the baby.

The papers and black and white, glossy images slipped into her hands, and she read. And then she gasped. "Oh, my God," she said, shaking her head. She stuffed all of it back into the envelope and rose out of her seat. "Louise, I have to go. Family emergency."

The other nurse looked up and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Kathy exhaled and said, "It is for them. For me? No." She swooped on her jacket and headed for the door, on her way to deliver the new to Olivia and Elliot in person.

**A/N: Well, what is Kathy gonna tell them? What do the pictures show? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: "A mother is a doctor, a lawyer, a judge, an entertainer, a chef, a counselor, a chauffeur, and an athlete. Most of all, she is a friend. She is every woman in the world, living for everyone but herself."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Tstabler © owns this story.**

Olivia shifted at the noise, but she didn't wake up. She was far too comfortable in the new, big bed, with Elliot's strong arms wrapped around her. her lips curled into a smile and she pulled him tighter.

Elliot, though, popped up at the sound. "Huh?" he gasped. He looked around, looked down, and heard it again. He kissed Olivia's head and slipped out from her hold, trying not to wake her. He pulled on a pair of flannel pants sitting on the top of the hamper, and he padded down the stairs and into the living room. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he grabbed the doorknob. "Yeah?" he mumbled, his eyes half-lidded.

"You asshole," the visitor spat.

Elliot's eyes popped open as he felt someone pushing into the living room. "What the hell are you doing, Kathy!"

"I was asked to give you this," Kathy spat, thrusting the envelope into his chest. "They're blacked out, you son of a bitch. You really are waiting with her!"

Elliot furrowed his brow. "Calm down," he hissed. "Liv's asleep, the kids are sleeping, you're gonna wake up my entire family!"

She took a breath, sat on the couch, and she suddenly felt better. "This is…this is amazing," she said, shifting her weight.

"Yeah." Elliot sat on the arm of the chair across from her. "What is going on with you?"

"You told Doctor Reynolds to black out the body on the ultrasound," Kathy said, shaking her head. "You told him to just label them 'Baby One' and 'Baby Two," she babbled. "How could you be so…"

"Whoa," he said, looking at the envelope. "Two?" he questioned, his smile growing. He ripped open the envelope, pulled out the papers, and flipped until he found the glossy photos. "Oh, my God." His hand shot up to his face, and he blinked. "Liv," he whispered. "Liv!"

Kathy watched as the man she once loved ran up the stairs. She sighed and leaned back into the couch. The comfort of the cushion did little to relax her as she heard Olivia squeal with delight and the laughter that followed. She rolled her eyes, and unaware she was even crying she felt a tear spill down her cheek.

"Mom?" a voice from behind her questioned.

Kathy turned her head. "What are you doing up?"

"I had to go to the bathroom, and the one in my room still smells like paint," Lizzie said, walking toward her. "Are you crying?"

Kathy shook her head. "No, I…I just came to tell your father…well, she's having twins."

Lizzie's face lit up. "Really? That is so cool!"

"Yeah," Kathy scoffed.

"Really, Mom," Lizzie said, looking at her. "Cool for them, because there's always someone to share things with, keep secrets with, play with. They're gonna have a great connection, like me and Dickie!" She saw the small smile on her mother's face. "And it's great for Liv, too. She loves kids, she wants a lot of them. It's going to be so wonderful for her, to have her first experience be one where she has two little lives, two little heartbeats inside of her, depending on her." She let out a soft breath. "She's gonna feel so lucky that she gets to experience something so amazing with daddy, especially..."

Kathy stopped her. "That's really beautiful," she whispered.

Lizzie nodded. "It really is," she smiled and stood up. "She's gonna be…"

She was interrupted by Elliot and Olivia running down the stairs. Lizzie looked at them, and she smiled at the tears in their eyes. "Thank you, Kathy," Olivia said, running to the heavily pregnant blonde.

Kathy was stunned, not hugging back, but not pulling away. "You're…you're welcome…"

Olivia pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't think I would be this emotional, but I…Lizzie, what are you…"

"I was just heading up," the teen said, smiling. She kissed Olivia, kissed her mother, and then gave her father a kiss. "Congratulations, Daddy," she said. "It's gonna be awesome."

"Yeah, pumpkin," Elliot said. "It is." He watched her run up the stairs, and then he pulled Olivia into his arms, chuckling. "Thanks for letting us know, Kathy. I just…you…you look upset." He took a moment and remembered that she'd come into the house very irritated. "Oh, uh, yeah."

"Forget it." Kathy said, shaking her head as she pushed herself up. "I just…I knew you wouldn't be in tonight, so I dropped that off, and now I'm going." She headed for the door and she turned back to look at them. "Congratulations," she said, sighing. She walked out, leaving them alone.

Elliot let out a breath, but then he looked at Olivia. His smile grew back, bigger and brighter, and he laughed as he met her in a deep kiss. Nothing could upset them, it seemed. They were on top of the world.

* * *

Fin came in whistling, he dropped coffee on Elliot's desk and a cup of tea on Olivia's. "Decaf," he said. "Ginger and lemon."

"Thanks," Olivia said, looking up, confused and surprised. She looked at Elliot, who simply shrugged as he sipped his coffee.

Munch looked at Fin, folded his arms, and huffed. "Where's mine?"

"You get yourself knocked up, I'll get you tea," Fin snipped.

Munch scoffed, and he looked at Olivia. "You okay?"

Olivia looked over at him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I'm fine." She shook her head and said, "Guy's, I'm pregnant, not broken. You don't have to treat me any differently, you don't have to pamper me, I'm still the same person I was four months ago."

Elliot smirked. "Pampering her is my job, anyway," he said, winking at her.

She chuckled and said, "Seriously, I don't want you walking on eggshells around me. Just…"

Fin interrupted. "Baby-Girl," he began, "You're the only girl in the core of the unit, that automatically makes you the target of eighteen overprotective guys. Plus, you're carryin' a Stabler baby, we know that's gonna get rough." He chuckled at the look Elliot gave him. "Face it, you're bein' treated like you're special."

She rolled her eyes and hid a smile behind a hard smirk. "I hate you all," she mumbled.

The guys laughed, Elliot kicked her foot under their desks, and he gave her a soft smile and small blown kiss when she looked up at him. "You wanna tell 'em?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow and she sighed. "It's up to you," she said, leaning back in her chair.

"Two," Elliot said, looking at Fin. "She's carrying two Stabler babies."

Fin looked at Olivia, his eyes wide. "Really?"

"Really," she said with a smile and a nod.

Munch laughed. "Hey, that's great. You can name one John and one Munch."

Elliot snickered and Olivia laughed. "We don't know if they're boys."

"Or girls," Elliot said, sighing. "Or one of each. We, uh, we wanna be surprised." He sipped his coffee and said, "Besides, while John and Munch are great names," he paused to roll his eyes, "We have some picked out already."

Before they could talk about them, though, Cragen barreled out of his office and into the squad room. "Stabler," he said. He looked at Olivia, and then immediately turned to Fin. "Fin, you two have a One-Thirty in progress, neighbor called after hearing a crash and screams. Run."

Fin ripped the paper with the address on it out of Cragen's hand and bolted, but Elliot gave Olivia a long, confused look.

"Go!" Cragen said, snapping at Elliot.

Elliot shook his head and ran, leaving Olivia at her desk.

Olivia looked up at Cragen and furrowed her brow. "I have a question."

"Paperwork," Cragen said, pointing at her desk. "Paperwork, statements, that's it. I'm not sending you out there in your condition."

Olivia's mouth dropped open and she fumed, "Condition? I can still do my job! Ya know, I…I asked you to treat me…"

"Olivia," Cragen interrupted, his eyes narrow. "It's not worth the risk. You're having a baby, that means no field work until you come back, after your leave."

She scoffed and shook her head. "I didn't think I had to choose between having a family and having a job."

"You still have your job," Cragen pointed out.

Olivia shook her head and stood up. "I didn't join the unit to be a secretary," she said, unclipping her badge and taking her gun out of her holster. "I joined to be a cop. A good one. If I can't do that, then there's no point in me being here." She dropped the gun and shiny gold shield into Cragen's hand, grabbed her jacket, and walked out of the squad room.

Cragen turned, slack-jawed, toward Munch. "What just happened?"

Munch looked at him, stone-faced. "Maybe you should have talked to her about it first," he said.

Cragen turned back toward the door, stunned. He didn't know it, but he had just given Olivia some serious mother issues.

**A/N: Whaaa? Will Elliot convince her to come back, or is she staying gone this time? And Kathy goes into labor, when the only one around to help her is the last person who wants to. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: "Mothers have all kinds of issues and problems and fears. But it is a mother's job to hide them, tuck them away, and worry only about the issues, problems, and fears of her children." So sorry I've been neglecting my updates. I've been quite down as of late, and also working on planning a benefit for the JHF, and stuff at work. I'm back now. **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler**

Elliot ran through the front door, panicked and breathing hard. He looked around, listening for Olivia, and he heard her in the kitchen. Talking. To his mother. He rolled his eyes and walked toward the sound of their voices, but he stopped just outside the kitchen.

He flattened against the wall, peering into the room. He saw Olivia; her eyes were red and puffy. She'd been crying. His heart broke a bit at the sight, and he heard his mother speak.

"Now, honey, I know you're upset, but this isn't good. The health of those babies is what's most important. Calm down, sweetheart." Bernie handed her a tissue and rubbed her shoulder.

Olivia sniffled. "I just got so…I've never been…Cragen's never desked me before. Not after I got shot, not after I got stabbed, not after El and I almost died chasing a perp down the train tracks, nothing made him bench me like this." She sniffled again. "I have to do my job, ya know? It's…it's who I am. If I'm not out there, being Detective Benson, then who the hell am I? I can't go back to being…"

"You are Olivia Stabler, wife and mother," Bernie interrupted with a smile. "You are still that strong, brilliant cop, Olivia. You just have to take it easy for a few months. You have to stop protecting the world, because you have two tiny people depending on you to protect them now." She handed Olivia another tissue. "Running and chasing guys with guns is not exactly smart at this particular moment in time. Even something as simple as talking to a victim at the hospital can be dangerous. What if an angry parent hits you, or the poor girl freaks out and throws something at you? Cragen wasn't just thinking about your health and safety, he was thinking about…"

"My kids," Olivia whispered, sniffling away the last of her tears. "I'm really…I guess it just hasn't sunk in yet. The nausea and the aching…it's not new to me, Bernie. Not with the life I've lived. It's just…I'd kind of given up on the idea of kids and a family. This all happened so…so fast and…I wasn't thinking. I guess…paperwork isn't gonna be too horrible. Not when I've got more important things to worry about."

"I am so glad you said that," Elliot said, finally stepping into the kitchen. He walked toward her, pulled her off of the stool and into his arms, and he hugged her tight. "Cragen told me you quit and I…Liv, I couldn't breathe."

She closed her eyes and sighed in relief, his hug, being in his arms, was her safe place. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I…"

"Shh," he said, swaying her. "Just come back with me. Liv, baby, he feels awful, the guys are worried, and I…I need you there."

She nodded as her head rested on his shoulder. She took a deep breath as she pulled back from him just a bit. "Can we stop somewhere first? I have the biggest craving for a chili dog."

He laughed and kissed her. "One Gray's Papaya chili-cheese dog, coming right up," he told her with another kiss.

She smiled and walked out of the kitchen. Elliot watched her go, then looked at his mother. "Thanks, Mom," he said softly. He kissed her cheek and ran out after Olivia.

"Anytime," Bernie said, though she knew he couldn't hear her. She took a breath, then moved toward the fridge, starting on dinner. Something she knew they would love, if they came home in time to eat it.

* * *

The hours passed, way too slowly. There was only so much paperwork she could do, only so much waiting for everyone else to come back with more information for her. She knew she overreacted, but she really did feel useless. She sighed and got up to get herself another cup of the tea Fin had made for her, but someone walked into the squad room. Someone she didn't want to see.

"Elliot's not here," she said, turning away.

"I'm not here to see him," the woman said, sitting in his chair. "I have to talk to you."

Olivia came back, her steaming mug in her hands, and she sat with a sigh. "I have nothing to say to you, Kathy."

"I have a lot to say to you," Kathy said, shaking her head. "Elliot probably told you why I really stopped by last night."

"He did," Olivia said with a nod. "I didn't intentionally get pregnant with twins. I didn't wake up and say, 'Gee, what can I do to really hurt Kathy now that I've successfully stolen her entire family. Which, by the way, I also didn't intend to do. Ever."

Kathy let out a breath. "I know that. I…I spent a lot of time thinking about this, Olivia, and I know being upset about all of this is silly. But you have to understand…Elliot and I, we were each other's first love, first intimate experience, first marriage, he had his first child with me, and had twins…which is so miraculous…with me. Seeing him having a lot of firsts with you, it made me feel like…like shit, actually."

Olivia sighed and folded her arms.

"Him wanting to wait with you, while he wouldn't for me no matter how much I begged, it hurt. And I thought to myself, at least I will be the only woman to give him something as special as his twins. You took that from me, too. I just couldn't stand you being better at loving him than me and then watching you take away the only thing I did with him that I thought you couldn't."

"Kathy," Olivia said, "I'm sorry you feel that way, I do, but I do love him. Maybe not better, but differently. The things we share, the relationship we have…"

"I know," Kathy interrupted. "Even when he was mine, he was yours. He always trusted you more than me, and obviously it was for a good reason. He was always more attached to you, worried about you. I have to stop holding a grudge against you for something that you had no control over."

Olivia sipped her tea, confused. "Are you…are you apologizing for the last ten years?"

"I am," Kathy said. "I really am. I know, he's always told me, that you never came on to him, you never led him on, or tried to lure him into bed. This all happened when…when you did something I couldn't do." She looked up at Olivia. "You helped my daughter, Olivia, when all I could do was blame him and yell at him for everything. You focused on her, you stepped in and you…you acted like her mother. I'll never be able to repay you for that, so I…I guess I'm trying to thank you for it."

"Kathy, as long as I've known your kids, I've loved them." Olivia sipped her tea and felt a wave of nausea hit her. She shook her head, shrugging it off. "I did what I could for Kathleen, and a part of me did it for Elliot and…and for you. At the time I thought I'd be saving a happy marriage."

"Yeah, well, we all had secrets back then," Kathy said with a laugh. "Some were obviously bigger than others," she said, gesturing to her belly. "I was stupid, and I cheated on him, and I hurt him. I would give anything to take it all back, but since I can't, I'm glad that if anyone had to be his second wife…but his first love…it was you."

Olivia squinted. "First…"

"Yeah, you heard me," Kathy nodded. "He is more in love with you than he ever was with me. It's a first for him. You have his heart, Olivia. For the first time in his life, he gave all of himself to someone, he gave his whole heart to you. Be careful with it, it's fragile."

Olivia smiled. "I don't intend on ever hurting him, Kathy. You have to…" she paused, put her mug down, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, God, this sucks."

Kathy chuckled. "Wait until they start to kick. That's the one thing I hated about carrying the twins. They kick you, then they kick each other, it's like having a wrestling match going on in your uterus."

Olivia laughed. "Oh, joy." She shook her head. "I can't wait."

Kathy laughed, too, as she said, "But it's so worth it."

"Yeah," Olivia said with a nod. "It is." She gave Kathy a smile and watched the blonde stand up.

"I'll see you, uh, soon," Kathy said. She turned toward the exit, but she stopped. "Oh, no."

"What?" Olivia said, standing, recognizing the sound of panic when she heard it.

Kathy's right hand went to her belly as her left grabbed onto the desk. "Ow, ow, ow," she moaned. "Not now. Not here, and not now."

"Oh, my God," Olivia said, grabbing her keys. "Come on. I'll drive. I'll call Alan and Elliot, and I promise we'll get you…" She, too, cringed in discomfort, covering her mouth and letting out a burp. "Damn chili dog."

Kathy laughed, but said, "Can we go now? Please?"

Olivia nodded, helping her out of the room. She completely forgot to tell Cragen where she was going, but he was watching her. He knew. He reached for his phone, grabbing his coat and hat. He dialed Elliot's number, hoping to head them off at the hospital. Olivia couldn't be alone with Kathy, not when she was as moody as she was.

He babbled into the phone as he caught up to them in the hallway. Olivia turned as he dropped a hand to her shoulder, and she gave him a small smile of thanks. Cragen hung up the phone. "Elliot's gonna call Kathy's boyfriend and meet us at the hospital." He looked at her face, into her eyes, and he knew that they were gonna be okay. They had to be okay. Especially when he told her, and Elliot, what he found out about Bernie.

**A/N: Kathy's baby is born on the same day as someone else's! Whose? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212  
**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: "Mothers give courage to everyone around them, because the courage they have just by being a mother is contagious."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU ad characters. TStabler**** owns this story, typed on her new, pretty, pink laptop **

Olivia was in the waiting room, rubbing her belly and burping as quietly as she could. "Excuse me," she mumbled, looking over her shoulder. "God, that feels so amazing."

Elliot chuckled, continuing his light massage of her lower back. "Poor thing," he whispered to her. "This has to be rough on you. Your first pregnancy and it's twins, your body is working three times as hard as it's used to, baby." He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and applied more pressure with his hands, earning a groan from her.

"If you stop, I might have to hurt you," she mumbled under her breath.

He chuckled. "I have no intentions of stopping, honey," he said. He kissed her cheek and snaked one hand over her waist to her belly, caressing the swell as he rubbed the ache out of her spine.

Fin let out a low growl and shook his head. "You two make me sick," he muttered. "Seriously, just get a room or somethin', I ain't in the mood to watch you fawn all over each other."

Elliot laughed. "You got the Daddy nerves. Casey will be fine, Fin."

"I don't get why she won't let me in there," Fin said with a shrug. "That's my child."

Melinda glowered at him. "You aren't her husband, and she isn't dating you," she said. "You fathered her child, but that doesn't mean she wants you by her side through the whole fucking…"

"Melinda," Olivia said sharply, "Not now. We've got two women in there, having babies, I'm pregnant, you don't wanna mess with these hormones." She shook her head. "He has every right to be in there, Casey's just terrified you'll kill her if she asks for him."

Melinda tilted her head. "I would."

Elliot looked at her. "It's unreasonable to expect Fin not want to be there for the birth of his own child, Mel. He loves you, but that's…that's his baby."

They all turned their heads as someone pushed through the wooden doors. A doctor, looking for someone. "Someone named Oda…Odalola?"

"Odafin Tutuola?" Fin asked, his eyes widening and his body stiffening.

The doctor nodded at him. "Casey Novak is asking for you," he said. "She's insisting on…"

"Thank you," Fin said, cutting him off. He squeezed Melinda's hand and looked at her. "Mel? Baby?"

Melinda sighed. "Go," she said, pulling her hand away from his. She held her breath as she watched him running toward the doors, following the doctor to Casey's delivery room. "I'm losing him."

Olivia shook her head. "You're not losing him, Mel. He doesn't want Casey, he just wants to be part of his child's life. How would you feel if your ex just didn't return Lisa on Friday, and got a lawyer and…"

"You made your point," Melinda interrupted. "I have…I wanted to be the one that…"

"You will," Olivia said softly. She had Elliot's hand clutched in hers and she whispered, "I know how hard it is, having the man you love having kids with someone else. I know that you think…"

Melinda turned on her. "You have no idea what this is like! Kathy had kids, his kids, before you two even met! You broke up a family, Olivia! This is completely…"

"Melinda!" Elliot roared. "What the hell did you just say?"

Melinda turned to Elliot. "You heard me!" she snapped. "I'm right! She disrupted a family that was already settled. Yours. Your wife and your kids. Me and Fin didn't even have a chance to…"

"Wow," Olivia scoffed, ignoring the fact that Melinda was talking. She shook her head, licked her lips as her eyes moved upward, and she shoved her hands in her pockets. "I'll see you at home," she said, looking just slightly over her shoulder. "Let me know what they name the baby," she said louder as she walked away from her husband.

"Liv!" he called after her, knowing he couldn't leave because he had the kids, and they wanted to be there for the birth of their half-sibling. "Liv, honey!"

She shot a hand up, waving over her head at him without looking back. She walked briskly toward the elevator, letting the doors close before the first of the tears fell. "Damn it," she hissed, wiping it away. "Fucking hormones."

* * *

Elliot walked in with the kids, a few hours after Olivia had left the hospital. He blinked, noticing something different. "Honey?" he yelled.

"Where are all the pictures?" Maureen asked, looking at the bare walls.

Dickie looked at his father. "Is Mom leaving?" he asked, panicked.

"No," Elliot said, shaking his head. "Liv?"

Olivia walked in from the kitchen, two picture frames in her hands. "What?" she asked, her voice slightly bitter. She walked over to the wall and hung the frames, new and crisp dark wood.

"What are you doing?" he asked, walking over to her.

She shrugged, straightening the frame. "The metal ones didn't really go with the…"

"Liv, what are you doing?" he repeated, interrupting her. "Reframing the pictures? You're avoiding something."

She turned and looked at him. "Yeah, I'm avoiding thinking about what Mel said," she spat out with a sigh. "El, she was so…"

"Wrong," Elliot finished. "Baby, she was wrong. You didn't disrupt or destroy anything, how many times do I have to…"

"You say that because admitting it would be admitting your own guilt," she said, stopping him. "No matter how we look at it, to everyone else it looks like you left your family for your partner."

"Since when do you care what other people think?" he asked hotly. "And have you forgotten that Kathy cleated on me? A lot? That's what destroyed our marriage, not you. You…you held me and the kids together when their mother fell apart. Don't let Melinda's emotional outbursts kill everything we worked so hard for, Liv."

She held his gaze for a moment. "I'm not…not killing anything," she said, walking back into the kitchen.

Elliot followed her, grabbing her arm as she reached for another new frame. "Olivia," he said, his voice firm.

"Uh-oh," she chuckled. "The whole name, I'm in trouble." She was laughing, but Elliot reached up and wiped away a tear.

"Come here," he said softly, pulling her into his arms. "I love you, so much, and this life with you means more to me than anything. Melinda's pissed because you're pregnant, and she's not, and Fin's got a baby with Casey so she probably feels like he won't want one with her." He kissed her forehead. "She took it all out on us."

She nodded into his chest. "I hate hearing that, El," she mumbled. "And it's not that I believe her, my system's so messed up, I'm overreacting about everything, I can't stop crying, and all I wanna do is eat pie and have sex."

He laughed. "I can help with at least one of those things."

"I want cherry," she mumbled.

He furrowed his brow and laughed. "What?"

She smirked and lifted her head up. "You just said you'd help with one of those things. I vote you get me pie."

He laughed, a strong and loud laugh, and he kissed her soundly on the lips. "There's my girl," he whispered, kissing her again. "My happy, funny, baby." He kissed her again and brushed her hair back. "She had a girl, by the way. Kathy's got another girl. They named her Taylor."

Olivia smiled. "That's pretty," she said. "What about Casey?"

"Casey and Fin have a beautiful baby boy." He kissed Olivia's forehead and said, "Nathan." He pulled back a bit and looked her in the eyes. "After you left, Cragen came up from the café. He, uh, he told me something. About my mother."

Olivia's eyes narrowed. "What?" she asked, her heart starting to throb in her chest. "What's wrong with your mother?"

Elliot shook his head. "Nothing really," he said with a shrug. "She, uh, she hasn't been taking her pills, though. She's been seeing Huang once a week. I guess he talked to her after Katie's trial, convinced her to get actual help."

She gasped lightly. "That's why she's been so…"

"Normal," Elliot nodded. "But…he saw her last night. At one of his meetings."

Olivia tilted her head. "An AA meeting?" She shook her head, trying to process it. "El, baby, your mother doesn't drink."

Elliot exhaled slowly and pulled her into his arms. "I didn't think she did," he said. "I swear to God, I never saw her drink. This explains…this explains so much."

She blinked, and she looked up at him. "Something else we have in common," she said to him.

He chuckled lightly and kissed her softly. "Something wonderful," he whispered. "Makes me even more certain we belong together."

She kissed him again and felt flutters in her belly. She moaned into his kiss and pulled away from him. "Morning sickness my ass," she said, turning around. "They should call in morning-afternoon-night-middle-of-the-night-fuck-all-you're-always-sick-sickness."

He laughed and grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, pulling her upstairs to their bathroom.

"What are you doing?" she asked, holding in a burp as her stomach turned again.

He led her into the large, luxurious room, and he shut the door behind them. "I promised you I would be here for every moment of this, every single experience." He pulled her down to him as he knelt on the floor and he said, "If you're gonna throw up, I'm holding your hair back."

She laughed and moaned a bit as he rubbed her shoulders. "I love you," she mumbled, trying to take deep, even breaths.

"I love you, too, baby," he said, kissing her neck.

She moaned again. Her eyes rolled and she said, "If you're not gonna go get me pie, El, you'd better stop that."

He smirked, moved his hands passed her belly to the bottom of her shirt, and tugged as he said, "Oh, you are definitely getting pie tonight."

She moaned lightly as he tugged off her shirt and she turned around fully, having her nausea dissipate as her need for him took over. "You do realize, after I have my pie, I'm going to actually want pie."

He laughed and pulled her close to him, running his hands all over her back and shoulders as he kissed her. "I promise I will get you some real pie. Cherry." He tugged at the waistband of her jeans and they laughed as they fell lightly to the tiled floor.

For a while, they could help each other forget their troubles, with mother and motherhood. They would deal with it all later.

**A/N: Elliot talks to Bernie, Melinda apologizes to Olivia, and the cravings and pains start to get to Olivia. How does Elliot help? And how/why does it affect Kathy? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: "Mothers only hate one specific group of people: other mothers."**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU ad characters. TStabler**** owns this story, typed on her new, pretty, pink laptop **

"Well, that was a complete waste of time," Elliot said, walking back into the squad room with Fin. "Absolute waste of time." He dropped a banana and a paper cup on Olivia's desk.

She looked at him with watering eyes. "El," she said with a sniffle, peeling her banana, "Thanks."

He winked at her. "Gotta take care of my partner," he said.

She bit into the fruit, made an appreciative noise, and asked, "Why was it a waste of time?"

Fin scoffed. "Melinda refused to talk to either one of us," he said. "She just grunted and threw papers at us."

"So you got nothing?" Olivia asked, her mouthful.

"You're so fucking cute," Elliot said with a laugh. "No, we got nothing. Melinda put our cases on the back burner. She's taking this a little too far."

Fin made a noise. "At least she looked at you, man. She wouldn't even acknowledge I was there." He sighed. "She's pissed because I stayed with Casey and the baby last night."

"She'll get over it," Olivia said, biting into her banana again. "She's gonna have to. I'm way too pregnant for her to fuck with my job."

Elliot laughed and looked at her. "What's gotten into you today?" he asked, smirking.

She raised an eyebrow. "Two of your kids," she snapped. She sipped her tea and looked at him with wide eyes. "That's amazing."

He nodded. "Guy at the café said that's what you're supposed to drink when you're pregnant," he said. "Stuff Fin made for you…"

"Ginger and lemon," she interrupted, biting into her banana, smiling. "Sweet of you," she mumbled with her mouth full of fruit.

Cragen came out of his office, annoyed. "Someone tell me why I have two bodies in the morgue with no cause of death, no collected evidence, no ID, and no leads. Tell me now, before I just start firing people."

Fin looked up. "My fault," he said. "She's lettin' personal problems…"

"Go fix it," Cragen snapped. "The world doesn't stop spinning because your girlfriend has PMS." He pointed to the door, made a face, and headed back into his office.

Fin looked at Elliot, let out a breath, and said, "Maybe we can ask Morris to run our cases for now."

"Good idea," Elliot said. He stood, then leaned over and kissed Olivia. "I love you." He smiled at her and walked out with Fin, hoping to get somewhere with their cases.

Olivia sat back, sipped her tea, and popped the last bit of banana into her mouth. She looked around, hummed as she noticed how empty the place was, and drummed her fingers along her desk.

"Bored, huh?" a voice from the doorway asked.

Olivia turned, then glowered. "You come to tell me how much of a homewrecking slut I am? Oh, wait, you did that last night," she spat. She shook her head and sipped her tea.

"I actually, uh, came to apologize," Melinda said, walking closer to the desk. "I was…I was pretty awful. Fin and Elliot…"

"They told me," Olivia interrupted. "I'm really glad it's not just me you're being a bitch to, Melinda. I'd be offended if I was," she said, shaking her head.

"I'm trying to say I'm sorry," Melinda said. "What do you want from me?"

Olivia stood quickly. "I want to forget you said it!" she yelled. "I want to forget I heard it! Do you have any idea what you made me feel? The things you made me think because you were so fucking…God, you were right!"

Melinda took another step. "Olivia, no, I…"

"You made me realize what I did," Olivia said, running her hand through her hair. "I was avoiding it, living in perfect denial because he makes me so fucking happy. And then you say…"

"I was wrong," Melinda said. "Olivia, what I said, I said it because I was hurt, jealous. I wanted someone else to hurt as much as I was and you were…"

"I was the easiest target," Olivia said. She bit her lip and said, "My mother used to say the same thing."

"Olivia, I…I didn't mean it," Melinda said.

Olivia blinked. "People always mean what they say when they say it," she said. "Part of you meant it. Part of you still means it."

Melinda shook her head and her eyes watered. "No," she whispered. "You know he loves you, you know you didn't ruin anything that wasn't already ruined. I'm sure he's told you that. You've loved him as long as I've known you, and you deserve to be…"

"I don't want to interrupt," Cragen said, in his office's doorway, "But I don't think Olivia needs to be upset right now. Twins, it's high-risk if…"

"Thank you, Doctor Cragen," Melinda said, looking at him. "I'm trying to calm her down, not make her any more upset."

"It's not working, is it?" Cragen said, holding out a hand.

Melinda looked at Olivia, who was wiping tears and trying to breathe evenly. "Olivia I…"

"Don't," Olivia said. "I get it, it's okay."

"I was out of line," Melinda said. "I really am sorry. I'm gonna go…go down to the lab. Work on your girls."

Olivia let her jaw relax a little. "Good, Do that. Talk to your boyfriend when you get down there. You were wrong about him, too."

Melinda took a breath. "I know I was. I'm just…this is gonna take some time to get used to. I'm not used to being so in love with someone and so close to losing them at the same time."

"I'm married and pregnant," Olivia scoffed, "And I'm still not used to it."

"You're not gonna lose him," Melinda said, offering her a smile. "I'm right about that."

Olivia looked up at Melinda, her hand moved over the swell of her belly, and she said, "God, I hope you are."

Cragen, watching, let the smile spread over his face, too. "She is," he said. "Trust me."

She looked at him and returned his smile and nodded. "Thanks," she whispered. She looked at Melinda and nodded, not forgiveness, but it was as close as they were going to get.

* * *

Elliot left the medical examiner's office, telling Fin he was going to grab Olivia some pizza and chocolate sauce. He laughed at Fin's face, and he headed toward, not a pizza place, but his house. He got a cab, needing to make the trip fast. He told the cabbie to wait, then ran up the front steps. "Mom!" he yelled, bursting through the door. "Mom, I gotta talk to you!"

Bernie walked in from the kitchen, a wooden spoon in her hand, and she looked at him. "What happened? What's wrong with Olivia?"

"Nothing," he said, walking toward her. "I just…I need to know something." He looked at his mother and took a deep breath. "Do you have…do you, uh, do you drink?"

"If I didn't I would dehydrate, Elliot," Bernie quipped.

"Mom," Elliot said with a sigh. "Are you going to AA meetings?"

Bernie sighed heavily. "They're supposed to be anonymous," she said.

"Don told me he saw you there, Mom," he said. "He was worried that you were…I mean drinking and your pills…when you take them."

Bernie reached for her son's shoulder. "I'm not drinking anymore," she said. "That's why I go to the meetings. I have been sober since you were four, Elliot, I go to meetings once in a while to keep it that way." She smiled. "You should tell your captain to talk to someone before talking about them."

Elliot chuckled. "I was just worried about you, Mom," he said. "With Liv being pregnant, and the kids being overwhelmed by everything, I…I need you around, ya know?"

Bernie felt her heart swell. Her son said she needed him. "I'm here, Elliot."

Elliot kissed her cheek, then ran into the kitchen. He ran back out, holding a bottle of chocolate syrup. He looked at his mother who was raising an eyebrow. "Don't ask," he said, shaking his head as he left the house.

He got back into the taxi and rode back to the station, making a short stop at a pizza place. He paid the cabbie, giving him a hefty tip. He ran into the precinct, bounded up the stairs, and strolled into the bullpen. He dropped the box onto his wife's desk, then held out the chocolate syrup.

"You…you…" she stammered, looking at the pizza box.

"Do I even wanna ask?" Munch asked, peering over his glasses.

Elliot laughed. "She has the weirdest cravings," he said. "It's so funny, ya know? Funny, but kind of sad. I never remembered what Kathy wanted, I always put up a fight when she asked me to get her something, it was annoying." He looked at Olivia. "With her…I want to. I remember what she wants and she doesn't even have to ask me to get it for her."

She squeezed the chocolate sauce over a slice of pizza, lifted it, and bit into it. Her eyes rolled. "That's fantastic," she mumbled.

Elliot made a face. "You are so lucky I love you," he said. "Because that's disgusting."

Olivia smiled at him, holding his gaze as she bit into her pizza again. "When we get home, I'm gonna want…"

"Pie?" Elliot asked, smirking.

"Oh, yeah," she said, chewing. "And a foot rub."

The guys laughed and Elliot nodded. "Sure, baby," he said. "Fin, can we get back to work so I can go home and take care of my wife?"

Fin sighed and stood up. "Mel finally got to work down in the lab, she got the ID's of our vics. We should start with the families."

Elliot nodded, then he kissed Olivia again, and left her for the second time that day.

Olivia chewed happily on her cheesy, chocolate pizza as she watched them leave. She had no idea he paid attention to her wants and needs so closely, and she felt the last remains of doubt disappear. "He loves me," she said to Munch, biting into her food. "He's in love with me."

Munch made a face. "I don't know what's more sickening," he laughed. "What you're eating or what you're saying." He got up to get her some ginger tea and he laughed. "But you're right. He is in love with you."

She nodded, taking the mug from Munch. "Thanks," she said. She raised the mug to her lips and stopped short. "Where…where did this come from?"

Munch folded his arms. "Elliot ordered it a while ago. Delivery guy dropped it off when you were in the bathroom. It's really nice."

Olivia looked at the ceramic mug, the screen-printed photo of her as a tiny girl sitting on her mother's lap. She felt the sting of tears, but she refused to cry. She turned the mug around, and she gasped. The quote, in swirly script, said, "A mother's love is neither learned nor inherited, it's simply felt." She ran her finger over the silver lettering, and she knew. She knew she loved the kids, she loved Elliot, and she loved the tiny lives growing inside of her.

She was a mother.

She felt it.

**A/N: Olivia thanks Elliot for his sweet gift, then takes the kids to see Kathy and the baby, and the conversation takes an interesting turn. Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: "A mother knows. She knows when her child is hurt, when her child is lying, when her child needs a hug, she just knows." **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

"I did not expect to come home to that," Elliot breathed, his voice soft and wispy as his hand ran through Olivia's hair. Her head was resting on his bare chest, her naked body intertwined with his, the light layer of sweat was the only thing between them. He chuckled, remembering how he'd some home late, the kids already in bed, and Olivia nowhere to be found. He walked into the bedroom, thinking she was asleep, and found her on the bed, naked, holding a plate.

"I told you I wanted pie," she said with a smirk, her fork piercing into the slice of cherry pie on the dish. He smirked and undressed quickly, and they fed each other the dessert, then burned off all of the calories by ravaging each other, making love, long and slow.

Basking in the afterglow, he sighed again. "I really didn't…what did I do to deserve that?"

Olivia chuckled, her body bouncing lightly against his. "Everything," she whispered, moving her head to look at him. "You've done everything I could possibly ask, even though I haven't asked. You're so…here. For me, El. You…"

"That's my job," he said, with narrow eyes. "Honey, I'm gonna be honest with you. Even if this…if these weren't my babies, if you weren't my wife, if we were still dancing around this uncontrollable attraction, I would still be here. Not in your bed," he said with a laugh.

She tilted her head. "What?"

"Liv, baby, the way I feel about you…have felt about you…I can almost guarantee that even if I wasn't the father, I would be the man running around at three in the morning to get you tacos, or bring you fruit, rubbing your back, your feet, whatever. I know I would have had the intense desire to take care of you," he explained.

She smiled at him, and kissed his barely parted lips. "I love you, Stabler."

He chuckled and ran his hand over her back. "I love you, Benson." He raised an eyebrow. "Can I still call you that?"

"Professionally," she said with a small nod. She kissed him again, smirking against his lips. "By the way, that mug, why did you…"

"It came? Man, I wanted to give it you," he interrupted. "Who gave you…"

"Munch," she said, dropping back to his chest.

He shook his head and scoffed. "Figured. Idiot. Anyway, I wanted you to…to have something that showed you that it wasn't all bad. So you could remember that there were pretty great moments, like the one in that picture. And I wanted to prove to you that you aren't inheriting her bad habits, you're nothing like her."

"I know I'm not, El," she whispered, her eyes closing as her fingers trailed intricate patterns over his chest. "I feel like a mother. She never really did."

He gripped her body lightly, turned her onto her side, and nuzzled her nose with his. "You are a mother, honey. Mother to my children, and that is…that's the most amazing thing you have ever done for me."

She smiled at him, brushed a thumb under his eyes to prevent him from breaking out of his hard shell and showing her he knew how to cry. "El," she whispered, "I didn't…"

"You did," he whispered, nodding. "Before…you've always stepped in to be a second mother to them. Done things for them when Kathy wouldn't, or couldn't. When I…God, you were there even I couldn't be, Liv. You've been…"

"El, don't," she said, stopping him. "Don't bring all of this up, now, okay? I'm emotional as it is, you're gonna make me cry, and we're having such a nice night," she almost whined.

He laughed and kissed her. "I just wanted you to know that you've been a mother for a long time, baby. You corrected my mistakes, and I was there to show you how to do things your own mother never did." He kissed her again, rolling further onto his side. He ran his hand over the swell of her belly. "These little miracles are our chance to get it all right, from the beginning."

She kissed him, her hands wrapped around his neck, she whimpered lightly when he pressed into her, pushing home with a thrust. "Oh, El," she whispered.

He hummed lightly in her ear, holding her hips as he moved slowly. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you more than anything." He caught her bottom lip in his teeth and pushed, pulled, loved his way to another intense release.

She held onto him, held on as he loved her, made her feel loved. She clenched around him tightly, cumming, and rode it out slowly, gasping lightly and moaning softly. His hands on her body, calming her down, soothed her. "I love you," she whispered, her eyes closing.

He was out of breath, too, and rolled onto his back, keeping her on her side as he pulled her close to him. "Go to sleep, baby," he whispered, kissing her. He chuckled, then, realizing she already had.

* * *

The morning was easy. Elliot made breakfast, the kids ate fast, and they piled into the SUV to go see Kathy and the baby. The kids wanted to see her, and neither Elliot nor Olivia could deny them that.

Elliot drove, not letting go of Olivia's hand over the gear shift. The kids sang along with the radio in the back seats, making Olivia smile. It was a good day. They pulled up to the house Kathy now shared with Alan, and they parked along the sidewalk.

Elliot got out, walked around to open Olivia's door, and held her arm as they walked to the front of the house, the kids running after them. Alan answered the door, shaking Elliot's hand with a wary look on his face. Things would never be easy between the men. Betrayal and lies hung between them, and no matter what, that mattered.

The kids hugged their mother, and Maureen asked to see the baby. Kathy moved to the side of the room, where a small portable crib was set up.

"What's her name?" Maureen asked, watching her mother, Kathy, lift the newborn baby out of the crib.

"Taylor," Kathy said with a smile.

Lizzie smiled. "That's a pretty name," she said.

"Yeah," Kathy said with a nod as she smiled down at the baby. "We actually got the name from your father. And Olivia."

"What?" Elliot asked, confused. "When did we discuss baby names with…"

"A long time ago," Kathy interrupted, sitting in a rocking chair with the baby, "You used to talk to me. Granted, it was almost always about the kids, or Olivia."

Elliot chuckled. "For obvious reasons," he said, folding his arms.

"Anyway," Kathy said, "You told me a story once, about how she got her name. Her mother was going to name her something else, but then she found out that Olivia meant 'olive tree' and symbolized fruitfulness and beauty, strength and dignity."

Elliot smiled. "She's all of that, and more," he said, looking at Olivia. "What does that have to do with…"

Kathy stopped him again. "You told me that she was going to be named…"

"Taylor," Olivia whispered. "Oh, my God," she chuckled. "I forgot all about that. El, when did you…"

"It just came up once," he said to her.

Kathy laughed. "Yeah, over dinner. 'Kathy, pass the peas, oh did you know that Olivia's mother was gonna name her Taylor until…"

"It didn't happen like that!" Elliot interrupted, shouting with a grin on his face.

"It was close enough," Kathy said. "Anyway, I remembered that. I liked the name. I looked it up, and it doesn't mean anything special, but women named Taylor have a tendency to be strong-willed, and beautiful. I guess I figured if it was good enough to almost be Olivia, then it was good enough for this little girl."

Olivia smiled, and she ran a hand over her belly. "You told her about that, El? Why?"

"He used to tell me all sorts of things about you," Kathy said, gently placing the sleeping baby in to Maureen's arms. She rose out of the rocking chair and said, "It was so annoying, hurtful sometimes, which is why I think I was such an easy target for that asshole, and why I was so quick to be with Alan. But most of what he said, Olivia, was really…"

"Kathy, she doesn't need this right now," Elliot said, trying to stop his ex-wife.

"Relax, Elliot," Kathy said, shaking her head. "Most of what he said was really nice. He never had a bad thing to say about you, he did have a thing or two to say about your mother, and he was inconsolable when she died, when you were…"

"All right, Kathy," Elliot said, his voice firm.

Kathy smirked. "Okay, sorry. I just wanted you to know, Olivia, that I agree, with everything he said. And you two…these babies are gonna be beautiful." She rested a hand over Olivia's bump and laughed. "They acting up yet?"

"Not really, I think I have another week or two before I can really feel what's going on in there."

Maureen heard this, and she looked at her sisters and brother in turn. "Is Mom being nice to Olivia? Without crying?"

"She was only crying because she was pregnant," Lizzie said. "I think they're gonna be okay. I think we all are."

Dickie shook his head and folded his arms. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't exactly trust it, or his mother. Not just yet. He knew his mother had apologized to Olivia, but part of him didn't believe her.

Olivia turned and looked at her stepson. She knew something was wrong. "Dickie? Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked, taking a step forward.

Dickie looked up at her, gave her a forced smile, and said, "Yeah, Mom. I'm good. I just...this is still weird. Sorry."

Olivia brushed his hair back, and she sighed. He was lying to her, but she'd make him talk when they got him. She turned and walked back to Elliot.

Dickie folded his arms and shook his head. He looked at Alan, who had a slightly worried look in his own eyes, and he looked back at his mother. Something was up, and he was going to find out what.

**A/N: Is Kathy being honest? Is she trying to get back on Elliot's good side for a reason? Fin and Melinda have a disturbing conversation, in the middle of the squad room, that puts a few jobs on the line. Whose? And Olivia and Elliot have another parental experience, thanks to Bernie. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: "A mother's work is never done." **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

Olivia awoke to the sound of a ringing phone, shivering against Elliot's naked body. She looked around, confused for a moment, and saw the wide open windows and the quilt thrown to floor. She chuckled as the phone rang again, remembering they'd created such heat in the room before they fell asleep that Elliot tossed the covers off and asked her to let some air in.

She reached for the comforter and the phone at the same time, grabbing both as she sunk back into the bed. "Benson," she said, stifling a yawn. "Oh, yes. That's me, too. My married name is…yes."

"Who is it?" Elliot grumbled, annoyed, as he tried to get closer to her.

She pushed him away and furrowed her brow, saying into the phone, "Oh, really? I didn't sign up for…well, that was nice of her, I think. I guess, since they're paid for I should. Thank you for the, uh, wake up call." She hung up and looked at Elliot.

He raised one eyebrow as he sat up. "So who was it and what did they pay for?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Your mother enrolled me in Mommy Yoga, and she signed us up for Lamaze classes."

"She…she did…if there's one thing I'm great at, Liv, it's creating and birthing children. We don't need…"

"She already paid for them," she said, running a hand down her face. "Get up. Apparently, you and I have to meditate before work."

He scoffed. "Hey, she signed you up for Mommy Yoga. You go stretch and contort yourself into different positions, I'm going back to…" He stopped. He thought. He smirked. "You little minx."

"Don't flatter yourself," she chided with a laugh. "You're only coming so you can pull my pregnant ass up when I get stuck."

He chuckled and pulled her close, kissing her. "Yoga increases flexibility, baby," he whispered against her lips. "Not that you're not already pretty limber, but…"

"Shut up," she said, running her lips over his again. "Get the kids up, looks like we have to have an early breakfast."

He kissed her again and whispered, "I love you," as he regretfully pulled away from her. He grabbed sweatpants, threw them on, and ventured into the emptiness of their house to rouse the kids.

Olivia smiled as she watched him, then scrunched up her face. She popped out of the bed and picked up her phone again, flipping through the calendar. "It's the twenty-fourth," she mumbled to herself.

She dropped her phone onto the bed and walked into the closet, throwing on some loose fitting and lightweight workout pants, a supportive bra, and a long-sleeved top. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it up into a clip, slipped on her sneakers, and met Elliot in the kitchen.

"El," she spat, striding up to him and resting her hands on his shoulders. "It's the twenty-fifth."

He looked at her, kissed her nose, and said, "Thank you, Calendar Girl. The world would be in great peril if not for your expression of dates and holidays."

She rolled her eyes and smirked, slapping him. "We're supposed to be in court today, today's the day Judge Vickers is gonna tell you whether or not…"

"I get the kids," he finished, blinking. "For good."

Olivia nodded. "I guess we just got so used to being here we forgot it wasn't permanent yet. She was sick, and then she was pregnant, so we…"

"What?" Dickie asked, looking at them. "You guys suck at the whispered conversation crap, ya know. Are we really…we might have to go live with Mom and Alan?"

Maureen stood up from the table. "No way, absolutely not. We wanted to stay with you for a reason, Dad, and it wasn't all just Mom's drugged out delusions."

Elliot turned from the stove, forgetting the frying eggs for a moment. "Guys, I don't want you to go, you know that. Liv and I love having you here. You're my kids, and I want you. I just…the law states that your mother has every right to…and with our jobs it's…"

"Dad, I'm nineteen!" Maureen yelled. "Katie's eighteen! We don't really need one of you around at all times! Won't the judge take that into consideration?"

"He might," Olivia said. She bit her lip and shook her head. "If you want to write down your…"

"No," Kathleen said, folding her arms. "I think we should be there."

"You have school," Elliot said, pointing the spatula at her.

Kathleen smirked. "I'm sure the principal will understand if I need to be in court to decide my fate, Dad. These are our lives, we should have a say in where we live, who we live with. It isn't fair to let a judge look at how much better Mom's doing physically and say that's enough. He can't base how good of a mother she is on her lack of hallucinations and lucid thinking, he should hear it from us. What she's like to live with, ya know?"

Elliot ran a hand down his face. He turned to give the pan a shake, trying to salvage breakfast, and said, "Fine. You wanna talk to him that badly, fine. You can come with us. But I don't see what anything you have to say will do to change his mind. He has to legally…"

"Weekends and two holidays," Lizzie said, interrupting.

"What?" Olivia questioned, folding her arms over her belly.

Lizzie blinked behind her glasses. "That's what Dad would have been given, right? If this was all a simple divorce, if Mom's drug addiction wasn't an issue and she wasn't pregnant when she was trying to get clean," she explained. "A judge would have given Daddy weekends and two federal holidays. Probably stupid ones like Easter and Saint Patrick's Day."

"Probably," Dickie mumbled, agreeing.

"Why can't he do the same thing now?" Lizzie continued. "She cheated on you, that's common knowledge. It wasn't all because of the drugs, we know that, too. And according to Doctor Huang, not all of Mom's drug use was forced. She had an actual problem. She's better now, yeah, but she has a new baby, which is a lot of pressure for someone struggling like she is. Is a judge really considering giving her four teenagers on top of that just because you have a demanding job and pregnant wife?"

Elliot looked at Olivia. "She's a genius," he whispered.

Olivia chuckled. "Lizzie, honey, you're absolutely right." She walked over and kissed the girl on the forehead. "You tell that to the judge, just the way you said it to us, and we shouldn't have a problem."

Elliot shook his head and sighed, biting his lip as he turned back to finish cooking. He couldn't help feeling like this was a mistake. "We've gotta go to some…thing…and then work, we'll pick you guys up here at twelve thirty. Be ready."

Dickie let out a sigh, then it dawned on him. "Dad, you think Mom remembers?"

Elliot nodded as he dished out the bacon and eggs. "Of course, why?"

"Because she was really nice to us yesterday," Dickie said. "Really nice."

Elliot chuckled as he placed the plates in front of his kids. "You don't really think that she would be that nice just to better her chances at…"

"Elliot," Olivia said, eyeing him. Her expression said it all. "She talked about my mother. She said she named her daughter because…"

"That manipulative bitch," Elliot interrupted. "I'm gonna go change," he said, kissing Olivia's forehead.

Olivia watched him stalk away, thankful that they had a forty-five minute yoga session to attend. He needed to relax, and she needed to breathe.

* * *

Olivia checked her watch, her suit clinging to her body in the heat of the meeting room. "She's an hour late," she whispered.

"I can tell time," Elliot hissed. He looked at her then. "Sorry, I'm just…"

"I know, you're an ass when you're nervous," she said, nodding.

He sighed. "It's not just this. Melinda and Fin today, man, can you believe them? Fin actually had the balls to try to blame half of the shit he did on me," he spat harshly, low-voiced.

Olivia sighed. "He got nervous, El. If you and Kathy were fighting like that, I'm sure you'd have blamed me for half of the shit you did, too. It would have convinced her you were at work."

Elliot shook his head. "When Kathy and I fought, Liv, it was for a reason. I never dragged you into it, more often than not I was defending you. He just can't tell Melinda that he's been spending time with his son, taking care of Casey like a real man." He scoffed. "Instead he tells her that I needed him to cover shifts and finish paperwork, putting my job on the line to cover his ass."

She brushed her hand over his cheek and said, "Cragen knows, El. Your job is not in danger, baby." She looked up and saw no sign of Kathy. "She's still not here, and these kids of yours are playing hopscotch on my bladder, so if she doesn't get here in…"

"This is ridiculous, Liv," he spat, interrupting. "Honey, just go to the bathroom. You won't miss anything." He kissed her temple and brushed her hair back, while one hand crept over the bump of her belly. "I really doubt she's even…"

"Whoa," Olivia said, her eyes widening. "Did you…"

"Yeah," he whispered, amazed. "Honey, they're…"

She pressed a finger to his lips, staying still. One of the babies kicked her again, and she laughed. "Oh, wow, that's…that's different. Usually, it's just movement, I can feel them moving around, but that was…"

"They're saying hi to Daddy," Elliot whispered, beaming as he chuckled and moved in to kiss her again. "That's the first time?"

She nodded. "I guess they were trying to get up the energy," she shrugged. "Ow, okay, that one wasn't so funny. That was rough."

He chuckled and kissed her again. "Our babies are kicking, Liv. Yours and mine."

"Yeah, and one of them certainly has Daddy's strength," she said, exhaling and resting her hands on her belly.

He laughed again, running his hands over her bump slowly, and said, "This is amazing. God, I can feel everything going on in there. Are they always this active?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I guess now that they're bigger and stronger, it's all just more noticeable."

Elliot felt a thump under his right hand and his eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, honey, this…this is…I can't thank you enough for…"

"Excuse me," the judge said, looking at them. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if Miss Malone doesn't walk through those doors, I'm going to have to…"

"Wait!" Lizzie yelled, standing. "Your Honor, please, just…hear what we have to say? I missed a Calculus test to be here to tell you…well, we all would really appreciate it if you would let us stay with our father and stepmother. They're amazing parents, even though they work a lot, and we have been incredibly happy with them."

Maureen got up, then, too. "They work a lot to support all of us, take care and provide for us, and how is that bad? We spend a lot of time together when they're not working. Besides, what they do…they're out there saving lives, cleaning up the streets to make the city safer, for us!"

Lizzie nodded. "Not to mention our mother is not one-hundred percent better. She had a lot of issues that we knew nothing about, and you don't just forget all of that in a few months. It takes years to be sure you're free of an addiction."

"Giving our mother full custody of us would not only cause her unnecessary stress," Maureen added, "But it would put us in an awkward situation. See, we asked our mother to let us stay with Dad. We chose him the first time. To have to live with her now, knowing she knows we don't really want to be there, not just yet, well…how would that make anyone happy?"

"Dad and our stepmom," Dickie said, standing then. He shook his head. "Dad and Mom," he corrected, "Make us happy. Our dad is probably the best father in the world, despite his rules and his being a bit overprotective. And I think I speak for all of us when I say, even with her crazy mood swings, gross cravings, and cutesy baby-talk, Olivia Benson is an incredible mother, and we want to be there to see and experience everything that having those two little Stablers with her."

The judge looked at each of the teenagers, then over at Olivia and Elliot, both crying silently with their hands pressed against Olivia's bump. "That was all very heartwarming, and I'm sure it was all true. But all I was going to say was, if Miss Malone wasn't here in five minutes, I would have to dismiss her claim and grant sole custody of these fine, young adults to their father."

The kids yelled, Olivia and Elliot cried freely, and they ran into each other's arms, hugging one another tight.

From the doorway, Kathy smiled. She sniffled, as listening to her children speak so honestly had stung a bit, but she knew she did the right thing. She looked at Alan, next to her, and said, "She was right."

"Who?" Alan asked.

Kathy shook her head and pushed the stroller, walking away from the meeting room. "Bernie," she said. "She's the one who told me that if I showed up today, I'd be setting myself up for heartbreak."

"Wait," Alan said, looking at her. "You actually listened to Bernie?"

Kathy laughed. "Well, now that she's not my mother-in-law, she's easy to deal with." She sniffled, then she and Alan, with baby Taylor, walked out of the courthouse.

Olivia watched them walk away. She knew she should have said something, but the moment was too perfect. She would just have to talk to Bernie and thank her. For everything.

**A/N: That sweet conversation between Bernie and Olivia, and a spoiled surprise. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: "Mothers would not be what they are or who they are without their children, or the fathers of their children." **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

Breakfast the next morning was joyful. The Stablers were happy just being together, laughing as they ate together and talked about their plans for the day. The kids cleared the dishes, gathered their things, and kissed their grandmother, who had taken to showing up at five every morning so Elliot and Olivia could make it to their yoga and Lamaze classes. Olivia kissed the kids, and planted a soulful kiss on Elliot, as she sent them out the door, then she sat beside Bernie on the new comfortable couch. She sighed as she looked at the woman, and she smiled.

"Won't you be late, dear?" Bernie asked, wondering why Olivia hadn't left with Elliot.

Olivia smiled at her mother-in-law, really thinking of her as that for the first time. "I'll be fine," she said. "You didn't have to tell Kathy not to…"

"Oh," Bernie interrupted. "You know."

Olivia nodded. "I saw them leaving. Elliot would have gotten them, even if…"

"I wasn't taking any chances," Bernie said, stopping her again. "My grandchildren are healthier or happier than they have ever been, the same goes for my son. I wasn't going to let anything threaten that."

"Are they really that different?" Olivia asked, biting her lip. "I haven't really noticed any…"

"Well, you wouldn't." Bernie chuckled and said, "You made it a point not to be around Elliot and the kids when Kathy was there, with good reason. You're still seeing them the way they've always been around you. Lighter, brighter." She shook her head and said, "When they were with Kathy and their father, the mood was dark. There was a lot of tension. A lot of fighting."

Olivia looked down at the diamond rings on her finger. "Yeah, he used to talk to me about it, sometimes."

"You've never really seen them upset or angry, not the way they used to be," Bernie continued. "I imagine it's because of you. There was no fighting with you, no real conflict. You put everyone at ease, and lifted their spirits. You were their breath of fresh air, their change in the wind."

"Nothing like that," Olivia said, chuckling.

"No, you were," Bernie said, amazed. "You still are. Olivia, I have never seen them smile…I wasn't there much, I know that, but I did talk to my grandchildren on the phone, and they always had such wonderful things to say about their father's partner." She laughed and said, "They thought you were just wonderful. And let's not get into what they told me about Elliot's behavior when you were around."

Olivia laughed and looked back at Bernie. "What?"

"Well, Dickie used to tell me he thought his father was a pod person," Bernie laughed. "Every time you came around, he had so much energy. He would smile and relax, and he was a different person. Now that you're with him, really with him, Olivia, that smile has not left his face."

Olivia sighed, absently rubbing her belly. "He makes me happy, too, Bern. It's not all just me, ya know."

Bernie smiled and ran a finger through her hair. She tilted her head and looked at Olivia, then, and asked, "And how are my newest grandbabies doing today?"

"Still asleep," Olivia said, rolling her eyes. "Thank God. Once they wake up, though, I will probably spend a few hours in the bathroom before wanting to kill everyone I run into."

"It's that bad?" Bernie asked with a chuckle.

Olivia's eyes widened and she scoffed. "You have no idea. It's like two knights of the round table, jousting on my liver."

Bernie laughed and shook her head. "Oh, honey, but it's all worth it, isn't it?"

Olivia's eyes sparkled as she smiled and nodded. "This might be my greatest accomplishment," she said proudly. "Being a mother." She looked at Bernie and she said, "Elliot…yesterday, he…he thanked me. He actually thanked me for having his children, for giving him this…gift. I did the only thing I could do, I cried, then thanked him back."

Bernie smirked. "You know why he's thankful, don't you?"

"He loves being a father," Olivia answered. "He wanted more kids, and…"

"He wanted your kids," Bernie corrected. "He's thankful, so very thankful that you let him be the father, that you chose him. That you chose each other, really, when you could have had anyone in the world. You waited for him, and he's grateful."

Olivia blinked, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Yeah, I guess…maybe I did wait."

Bernie brushed Olivia's hair back and kissed her forehead, and she said, "You should go, honey. The last thing anyone wants is Captain Cragen yelling at you, with your mood swings lately, you'll kill him."

Olivia laughed and groaned as she pushed herself up off of the couch. "Oh, thank you, Bernie." She turned and she hugged the woman. "For everything. I know I wouldn't be here right now if you didn't say something to him, do something somehow. Whatever you did, thank you."

"Olivia, sweetie," Bernie said, holding her hand, "The only thing I did was show you a picture. That's it. This all happened because of you and him, and your feelings. I just kept you both in line." She laughed and kissed Olivia's cheek. "I'll have dinner on the table when you get home."

Olivia smiled, grabbed her keys, and left the house, taking in both a deep breath and the realization that she really was nothing like her mother. She looked at the sedan, then looked down the street. Walking, she decided, was a good choice on such a good day.

* * *

She made it to the precinct in record time, having been primed by the morning's yoga session. She walked up the stairs happy, smiling, and almost giggling. When she stepped into the squad room, though, she froze.

She looked around, everyone was still, silent, waiting. Elliot was at her side in no time, taking her hand, and she felt the panic start to rise. "What?" she asked. "What happened?"

Munch stood up and he walked over to her. "Don't…ya know, you're pregnant."

"It's hard to forget," Olivia snapped. "What the hell is going on?"

Fin bit his lip. "Someone is here to see you, Baby-Girl," he said. "Someone, uh, someone you probably didn't know was comin'."

"Dean?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

Elliot chuckled. "No, baby. Not Dean. Not Kurt, or Ed, no one I'd kill for looking at you funny." He brushed her hair back and whispered, "Promise me you will stay calm. Don't freak out on me, okay? Let Cragen explain before you panic, because our kids…"

"I know I'm not supposed to panic," she said. "Will you tell me who the hell…"

"Olivia?" Cragen said, stepping out of the interrogation room. "Will you and Elliot come in here, please?"

She raised an eyebrow, then looked at Elliot. She squeezed his hand, then walked into the room. Almost immediately, confetti and balloons and streamers were surrounding her, in various pastels. "What the hell?"

"Surprise!" Casey shouted, tossing a pacifier at her. "Welcome to your baby shower!"

Olivia put a hand over her heart, laughing. "I am going to kill you," she said, turning to Elliot. "You had me scared out of my mind!"

He kissed her and said, "Got you in here, didn't it?"

Fin and Munch, coming in behind them, handed her a few large boxes. Fin laughed and said, "We weren't jokin', Baby-Girl, we all know you hate surprises, so we really weren't sure you wanted to see these people."

Munch nodded and scoffed. "And that nervous look on Elliot's face was genuine, he has been walking on eggshells around you all week, afraid he'd say something to spoil the surprise."

"You knew about this?" she asked, turning to Elliot.

"He planned it," Casey said, laughing. She saw the glare Melinda was giving her, and she cleared her throat. Well, uh, with help. From all of us." She looked down at the sleeping baby in her carrier and smiled brightly again. "You have to hurry up and have those babies, Benson. This little guy is gonna love having someone to play with."

Olivia laughed and put her boxes on the table. "Don't rush it, please," she said. "Maureen gave me a detailed narration of exactly what is gonna happen to me, down to the last bloody, gooey detail, so the longer I can put it off…"

"It wasn't that bad," Casey laughed, picking up her son.

Fin widened his eyes. "You squeezed my hand so hard you almost broke all of my fingers," he said, shaking his head.

"You were holding her hand?" Melinda asked, folding her arms.

Elliot looked at her with narrow eyes. "Hey!" he snapped. "This is Liv's day, okay? Can we please be civil for the next ten minutes?"

Melinda shrunk back apologetically and pushed a big box over to her. "Here you go, honey," she said, attempting a smile.

Olivia picked up the pretty, yellow package, and she looked at her friends. "Guys, this is all really nice, but isn't it too soon for this?"

"We all wanted to be here," Cragen said. "And you're leaving sooner than most mothers do, since your circumstances are, uh, well, let's be honest. You're special, Benson."

"Stabler," Elliot said, wrapping an arm around her. "We're off the clock for the next fifteen minutes, her name is Stabler right now." He laughed and kissed her forehead.

Cragen chuckled and said, "Congratulations, you two, and these kids are damn lucky to have you two as parents." He lifted a glass of soda and toasted, with everyone following. "Now get back to work," he said with a laugh. He slapped Elliot on the shoulder and walked out of the interrogation room, heading into his office to lead the rest of the squad.

Olivia looked at the people in the room and she sighed. "Thank you, guys, really, but I didn't…"

Alex interrupted her. "Hey, Benson…"

"Stabler!" Elliot yelled, with an annoyed chuckle.

"Whatever, Olivia, better?" Alex snapped at him, rolling her eyes. "You're gonna be an amazing mother, and we wanted to show you how excited we are about the two little Bensons…"

"Stablers," Olivia and Elliot said, together, laughing.

Alex rolled her eyes again. "Whatever," she said, folding her arms. "How excited we are about the kids."

Elliot pulled Olivia closer to him and rubbed his hands over her belly. "Thank you," he said, closing his eyes and smiling. He pressed his lips to the back of her neck. "Thank you, Liv," he whispered.

She leaned into him and smiled. "Thank you, baby," she said with a grin. "I love you, El."

"I love you, too," he whispered into her ear. He kissed the back of her head and smiled, and he helped her open the gifts, which he purposely told everyone to keep gender neutral.

One gift, though, that on one in the room had claimed, was wrapped in purple paper, confusing Elliot. He reached for it, but Fin grabbed it before he could.

"Don't," Fin said. "Trust me." He flipped over the tag and there, in black ink, were the words, "Love, Kathy." He looked at Elliot and said, "She dropped it off about an hour ago. Said she knew what you were having. I'm not givin' this to ya until you have those kids."

Elliot tilted his head. "She was here, and she tried to ruin the…damn." He sighed and looked at Olivia, who was laughing with Alex, Casey, and Melinda over some cute clothes. "Thanks, Fin," he said. "I really wanna wait with her. It means a lot to me."

"I know it does," Fin said. "Look, uh, I'm sorry about…"

"You just made up for it," Elliot interrupted, holding his hand out to his friend.

Fin took it, and shook it, and smiled. If he could keep the secret for a few more months, things would be great. He just had to talk to Kathy.

**A/N: So who else has Kathy told? And a moment with Bernie and the other kids, coming up. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212 **


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: "Mothers are the world's best secret-keepers." **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

"And it says that one child alone can cause major tearing," Maureen said, reading from a book as she curled on the couch beside Olivia. "Imagine what two are gonna do to you!"

Olivia, swallowing hard, looked at Elliot in the recliner. "I am having a C-section. No way is any of that happening to me. I am gonna need drugs, El. No, better. Knock me the hell out."

Elliot laughed, lifting his beer to his lips. "Maur, why are you torturing your mother?"

Maureen shrugged. "She shouldn't go into this unprepared. Besides, she's the one who always needs facts and figures and specifics, isn't she? She's the one who demands a 'why' when the 'who' and 'how' are enough. She should know!"

Elliot looked at his daughter, then at his wife. He rose, pulled Olivia up and led her to the easy-chair, then sat in it with her on his lap. He eased back, reclining it, and pulled her close to him. "Kathy had twins, and three kids before that, and she was fine. Baby, this is nothing to be…"

"Got you to cuddle with me," she said with a smirk. She kissed his lips, frozen in shocked amusement, and said, "I know what's gonna happen, and I was serious when I said I needed drugs, lots of them, but I can't wait to have these babies."

He chuckled as he ran his hand over her body and rubbed her belly. "Neither can I." He grazed her forehead with his lips and dropped light kisses along her brow and cheek bones. "I am so in love with you, Liv. The three of you."

"Hey!" Kathleen yelled from the kitchen table. "Don't forget us older kids from your first failed attempt at marriage."

Elliot scoffed. "Katie, you know I love you. More than anything. Liv and I…these babies aren't gonna change anything."

Kathleen smirked. "I know," she said. "We love you, too, Dad." She smiled at her father and stepmother before turning her attention back to her laptop, writing her paper.

Olivia chuckled and nestled closer to him, feeling his arms wrap tighter around her. "Are you okay?" she asked, peering up at him.

Elliot nodded, taking a breath. "Perfect," he said. "Nothing in my life has ever felt so right, Liv." He kissed her forehead, and he heard his mother humming in the kitchen. "She really loves you," he whispered.

"Who, Katie?" Olivia asked with a scrunched up face.

Elliot chuckled and kissed her nose. "No, my mother. You don't see her hanging out at my brother's house, fussing over his wife and kids, do you? She hasn't seen my sisters in months, but she's been here, everyday, cooking and cleaning because she knows you hate it." He kissed her and toyed with her hair, and he said, "She told me I'm the only one of her kids who got it right. Well, the second time."

She took a deep breath, sighed, and closed her eyes. "In a way, El, I think she's trying to give me what she knows I'm missing. She always says I gave her her son back, maybe this is all her way of giving me…"

"A mother," Elliot whispered. "Maybe." He said with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

At that moment, the humming filtered from the kitchen to the living room, getting louder as Bernie walked closer. "Dinner's ready," she said. "Richard, set the table, please?"

Dickie rolled his eyes. "Richard? Grandma, really?"

"I could always use what I used to call you when you were little." Bernie folded her arms and smirked at the teenager.

"No, no," Dickie said, shaking his head. "Richard's fine. Really. In fact, from now on, everyone calls me Richard."

Olivia, with help from Elliot, sat up and got off of the chair. She looked at Elliot. "What did she call him?"

Elliot smirked. "Dick-Dick," he said shaking his head. He and Olivia shared a laugh, and Bernie looked on with a smile, hoping what she knew now would not get to them. She'd erased Kathy's message, but she wasn't sure if the woman would call back, or if anyone else knew.

* * *

Dinner, home cooked and traditional, was wonderful. The kids ate eagerly, trying not to roll their eyes as every so often they would catch their father feeding Olivia, and vice versa.

They all laughed when the babies began causing a ruckus, taking turns feeling them kick and roll around. Regardless of how much discomfort it was causing Olivia, she loved it. Bernie loved seeing everyone happy and together, it felt so natural to her.

"All right," Bernie said with a laugh. "Leave the little ones alone, stop rubbing her belly, she isn't Buddha." She shooed the older kids away from Olivia and Elliot, then turned to her son. "I'll stay down here with the kids, you go up and run your wife a hot bath and try to get those sweet things to calm down."

Elliot raised his eyebrow, but he smiled and said, "Thanks, Mom." He kissed her cheek and got Olivia out of her chair and up the stairs, planning to do exactly as his mother told him.

Watching them go with a smile, Bernie said, over her shoulder, "The four of you, come here, please."

The kids looked at each other, and then at their grandmother. "What did we do?" Maureen asked, sitting.

Lizzie sat beside her and asked, "Are we in trouble?"

Bernie laughed as she sat across from them. "No, dear, not at all. I just wanted to talk to you. See how you're handling all of this."

"We don't really like Alan," Dickie said, "But other than that, this is all…we're okay."

Bernie nodded. "Are you all right, knowing there's going to be two more of you running around?"

Kathleen laughed. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I think…well, I know I wouldn't be if this was Mom and Dad having more kids, but it's Liv. Ya know? She's always wanted to be a mother, and we have always wanted to see her raise her kids."

Lizzie smiled. "I remember telling Dad once, how I wished she could be my mother, because she was so cool, and understanding. And now…"

"We love Mom," Maureen said quickly. "Don't think we don't."

Bernie shook her head. "Oh, I know you love your mother," she said. "But Olivia is your mother, too, now. And she is going to need a lot of help from the four of you. Twins are a lot of work, and she's going to be a new mom dealing with it all. Don't give her a hard time, stay out of trouble, and give her a hand around here, huh?"

Dickie nodded. "We help now, Grandma, so we know…"

"Let her sleep later, don't nag her, clean your own rooms, do the laundry," Bernie said, looking them in the eyes. "Don't get into trouble at school, or at least don't tell her you have, she doesn't need the stress."

"Grandma!" Kathleen laughed. "We know!" She looked at her brother and sisters and said, "We know, and we're all gonna do our best to make this easy for her, right, guys?"

There were nods and murmurs of agreement, and then Dickie said, "So I shouldn't tell her that I got into a fight at school yesterday?"

"Probably not, no," Bernie chuckled. "Tell your father, though."

Dickie rolled his eyes. "Grandma, come on, can't you just…"

"Tell him, Richard, or I will," Bernie threatened. "And you don't want me to do that; you'll be in even more trouble if he doesn't hear it from you."

Kathleen narrowed her eyes. "Grandma, you didn't give us this speech when Mom had twins."

Bernie held in a laugh. "I thought your mother deserved to deal with you little hellions." She brushed Dickie's hair back. "After the hell she put your father through…and you know that she wasn't supposed to be able to have any more kids after Katie."

"What?" Lizzie asked. "We weren't planned?"

Bernie shook her head. "Your mother told your father she couldn't, and wouldn't, have any more kids. He didn't talk to her for weeks after she told him she was pregnant with the two of you, although he desperately wanted you. See, one thing I can say about your father is how much he loves you kids. All of you, and the little ones we have yet to meet."

Dickie furrowed his brow. "Mom lied to him? Even then?" He scoffed and said, "And he forgave her?"

Bernie sighed. "Your father, despite what you may think, loved Kathy with all of his heart. It wasn't anything like what he feels for Olivia, but he wanted to stay with her, make things work. He wanted to keep her."

"Until he met Liv," Maureen said, smirking.

Bernie laughed. "It took a while after they met, but she did bring out the best in him. You all know that. She made him feel things he hadn't felt in years, if ever." She dropped her hand from Dickie's head and said, "She made him realize what he was missing, what he had already missed, and he wanted it all back. He let himself fall in love with her, no one expected it, no one predicted it, and no one could stop it."

Kathleen sighed. "He's having twins, again, and he's getting what he wanted. He isn't pissed about it this time; he can really enjoy it all."

"Exactly," Bernie said. "Which is why I don't want you kids giving them a hard time. Let them both enjoy this, and have fun with it yourselves. This is a new little brother and sister for you all, and…"

"What?" Dickie and Lizzie asked, together.

Bernie's eyes widened. "Oh, don't…don't tell them that! They're not supposed to know that!"

Dickie looked at his grandmother and his smile grew. "I'm getting a little brother?"

"Another girl?" Lizzie asked, happy. "I get to have a little sister?"

"Shh!" Bernie hushed, scolding them. "Do not even utter a single…"

"How did you know?" Maureen asked, smirking.

Kathleen leaned forward. "Yeah, I mean, I thought they didn't want…"

"Your mother," Bernie hissed quietly, annoyed. "She found the sonograms in Olivia's file when she went back to work, she called and left messages, trying very hard to tell your father." She looked at her grandchildren. "Please, don't say anything to them. Give them this."

Dickie grinned, looking just like his father. "I won't tell them if you don't tell Dad I…"

"Fine," Bernie said, rolling her eyes. "I will sign your detention slip, just…"

"Thank you!" Dickie said, hugging his grandmother.

Bernie was a bit stunned. It had been a while since he'd hugged her like this. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, forgetting about Kathy and spoiled surprises and detention and school fights. All that mattered to her, now, was this. She took a breath and smiled as she let it out, feeling like part of the family, really, at last.

Her eyes rose toward the ceiling, and she wondered how long it would take for it all to crash down.

**A/N: Olivia's day at work gets frustrating, Kathy makes a final attempt at wrecking the surprise but someone comes to the rescue, and Elliot meets his temporary partner, and it makes him make a drastic decision. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: "Mothers and stepmothers have only one thing in common. Love for their children and their children's father."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

Olivia woke to the sound of her cell phone blaring. She groaned and reached for it, wondering who would be calling in the middle of the night, especially since she had taken her maternity leave. She looked down at it, then she sat up.

"Who is it?" Elliot grumbled beside her, his hands caressing her body and her belly.

"Kathy," she said, her voice both curious and annoyed.

Elliot popped his head up, then. "Don't answer. My mother told me she's been trying to find ways to tell us what she knows about the babies."

"Is there something wrong with…"

"No, baby," he interrupted, assuring her. "Kathy saw the unedited ultrasound photos. She's trying to…"

Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes, dropping the phone back to the end table. "Really? She is really upset that we wanna wait, isn't she?"

"More upset that she was when I handed her signed divorce papers," he said, kissing the side of her neck. "How do you wake up smelling so good?"

She laughed and linked her fingers with his on her bump. "Could be the shower I took last night, or the fact that your mother washes these sheets every day."

"I'm glad she does," he said, nipping at her shoulder. "If she knew the things we do in this bed every night, she'd burn them instead of washing them."

She laughed a bit louder, rolling toward him. "I'm pregnant, El," she said. "Your mother obviously knows…"

"She doesn't know how often, or how crazy we get," he said, cutting her off and running his tongue over her collar bone. "How crazy you make me," he whispered.

She moaned, dropping her head back to let him suck on her neck the way he clearly wanted to. "You drive me crazy, too, ya know."

He chuckled as he left a small mark on her neck. "I love you," he whispered.

She turned to him more fully, moving her lips to his. "I love you," she whispered into his mouth.

He moved his hand, lower down her body, almost reaching between her legs, when his phone rang. He rolled his eyes, kissed Olivia once more, and then reached over her to look at his phone. "Jesus," he hissed, answering it. "What, Kathy?"

He only let her get a few words out before hanging up on her. "Damn it," he spat, "One more second and she would have told me. She has nerve, man," he griped, shaking his head. He dropped the phone then sighed, looking at Olivia. "That kinda killed the mood."

"Yeah, well, if it didn't, this would," she said, sitting up and moving the blanket. "I have to pee. Your children are using my bladder as a trampoline."

He laughed and said, "They take after me. They love to work out."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "We're both a couple of gym rats," she said, padding into the bathroom, not bothering to cover up as he was the only one in the room.

He sighed and leaned back on the bed, shaking his head as she moved, briefly hating the fact that he had to go to work without her for the first time in years. As he watched her come back from the bathroom, her naked and pregnant form coming toward him, he lost the negative thoughts, feeling nothing but love, pride, and gratuity.

She saw the look in his eyes and she crawled into the bed, curling into him and kissing him deeply. "I don't know what you're looking at," she said, "But it must be nice."

"I was looking at you, baby," he said with a smirk, pulling her close. "Go back to sleep. I have to be at work in two hours, and I wanna hold you as long as possible before I have to deal with Cassidy."

She laughed and kissed him. "He's happily married now," she said. "And he's a father. I doubt he's…"

"He's still fucking annoying," Elliot said, mumbling as he nestled into her neck. He was asleep in moments, the woman he loved in his arms and his two young lives nestled safely between them.

She fell asleep to his comforting caresses, too, feeling as content as he was. She didn't know what the morning would bring, but she knew she'd be able to face it.

* * *

"Bernie," Olivia called from the living room, trying to get up off of the cushy couch. "I told you I would do that, you don't have to…"

"You are not moving from that spot," Bernie yelled back at her. "I have this under control. You shouldn't be inhaling the cleaning spray anyway, Olivia. You just sit there and relax."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I can't do that," she growled, restless. "I hate not being there."

Bernie dropped the spray and her rag, and she walked into the living room. "Honey, I'm sure he's fine."

"I'm not really worried about him, Bern. He can take care of himself, I know he can. I just…I need to be doing something, I need to be there with him, just in case…"

"Not really worried about him, you say?" Bernie interrupted with a chuckle.

"Okay, maybe a little," Olivia laughed. "It's really just my inability to sit still. I have to work, Bernie, I can't…"

Bernie held up a hand. "Well, for the next five weeks, you have to stay off of your feet and let those babies grow big and healthy."

"I don't want them to get too big," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Bernie laughed and said, "I could tell you stories, dear. Elliot was not a small baby."

"He's not a small man," Olivia said with a small laugh. "Not much has changed."

"Has he ever told you that we thought he was twins?" Bernie asked, smirking. "That's how large he was. So I know a thing or two about delivering big babies. Your body will be able to handle it, and it'll be worth it the minute they put those precious little ones in your arms."

Olivia laughed and said, "Thank you, Bernie."

"Honey, when are you going to start calling me 'Mom?" Bernie asked, folding her arms.

"Oh, uh," Olivia was stunned, speechless. She'd never given it a thought. The only mother she'd ever known had ruined her, destroyed her. She didn't want to give Bernie such a negative name when she'd been nothing but positive for her. "Well, do you want me to?" she asked, biting her lip and rubbing the bump of her belly, trying to sooth the babies who were just as restless as she was.

Bernie looked at Olivia and she sighed with a smile. "I would love nothing more, Olivia." She sat down beside her and took her hand. "From the moment you walked into his life, the moment he told me all about how you changed him, I knew one day I would think of you as a daughter. That day…when you came to find me, to help Katie, that was when it happened. You were family then."

Olivia's eyes watered and she sniffled. "Bern…Mom?" she said, more like a testing question. "Really?"

Bernie was on the verge of tears herself. "Honest to God."

Olivia shifted and struggled, but moved to give Bernie a hug, holding in her tears. She squeezed Elliot's mother tightly and her eyes looked toward the ceiling. She said a silent thank you, along with a silent apology, to her mother. She knew somehow her mother had given her what she had, and who she had, and was responsible for the new love and new family she had. It was her way of making up for the life she'd given Olivia.

Their emotion riddled hug was interrupted by a knock on the door, a ring of the doorbell, and the shout of Kathy's voice. "Hello?"

Bernie grunted as she pulled away from Olivia. "I'll get it," she said, "And I will make her go away."

Olivia nodded and laughed, wiping her eyes and sniffling. "Okay, Mom," she said, winking at the woman.

Bernie waited a moment, her hand over her heart, and she got up to answer the door. She pulled it open and asked, "What do you want, Kathy? Please, don't even…"

"Are they home?" Kathy asked, pushing her way in with the baby carrier in her hands. "I want to know if they liked the gifts."

Bernie sighed. "Elliot is at work, Olivia is right there, they haven't opened yours yet."

"Well, why not?" Kathy asked, looking at Olivia.

Olivia shifted and sat up straight. "Because you know what we're having, and we don't want to know."

Kathy smirked. "Oh, you mean you still haven't found out that you're having…"

Olivia held up a hand and shot her a glare. "Listen to me, Kathy, I know you hate me. I know you're not happy with the way things have happened, but please, if any part of you still loves Elliot, you will leave this alone, and you will let him get the surprise he wants."

"Don't you get it, Olivia?" Kathy asked with a sigh. "It's because I love him that I can't let him have this. Not with you." She narrowed her eyes and said, "You have to buy my silence."

Olivia sighed and closed her eyes. "How much is it gonna take to get you to shut up?"

"Are you…are you doing this?" Kathy asked, placing the baby carrier with Taylor sleeping inside on the coffee table. She folded her arms.

Olivia scooted and fought her way to her feet. "Give me an amount, Kathy. What's it gonna take for you to stop trying to ruin this for him?"

Kathy thought for a moment, trying to figure out why Olivia had agreed so quickly. "You don't have enough money," she said. "Elliot would know if…"

"I've got money," Olivia said, cutting her off. "My mother…there's more than enough in the account. Elliot will never have to know."

"Ten thousand dollars," Kathy said with a grin. "That's it. And you're telling me that you're willing to part with that to keep this a secret for him? Seriously?"

Olivia put a hand on her back as she walked toward the locked end table by the door. She grabbed her keys off of the hook and slipped a tiny silver key into the lock, opening it. She pulled out her checkbook and she said, "You want it made out to 'cash' or should I…"

"You're actually gonna do this?" Kathy asked, shocked, interrupting.

Olivia had tears in her eyes again. She looked at Kathy, and she shrugged. "If that's what it takes, Kathy. I love him, more than you could possibly ever know, and I will do anything to give him what he wants."

Kathy stood in silence, taking in the sight of a very pregnant Olivia, almost crying, ready to sign away a good chunk of money to keep a secret that she didn't think was that important. "Put it away," she said softly. "I can't take money from you, I just…I wanted to see if…"

"You wanted to see if I would do it?" Olivia asked, shaking her checkbook. "I will. Damn it, Kathy, he doesn't want to know! These are my first…I don't wanna know, but if it'll make you feel better to tell me, then do it! Just don't tell him!"

Kathy saw the tears rolling down Olivia's cheeks. "I…I'm sorry…I didn't think you were that…"

"You should leave now," Bernie said, her voice firm. "If you are finished working her into a fit, Kathy, and you have your answer, you need to go."

Kathy licked her lips and nodded. She picked up the carrier and she said, "You love him more than I thought you did."

"He's my life, Kathy," Olivia said, dropping the checkbook into the drawer. "He has been, for years, even before he told me how he felt. I've always loved him, and I've always done whatever I could to keep him and the kids safe and happy." She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "I even talked him out of signing the papers, twice, when it was you who wanted to…"

"He never told me that," Kathy said, sounding shocked. "You…you wanted him, Olivia, you would have had him sooner if…"

"Do you get it now?" Olivia interrupted, folding her arms over her belly. "It didn't matter how much I wanted him, I wanted him to be happy. That's all that has ever mattered to me."

Kathy bit her lip and nodded, heading for the door. "You deserve him, then," she said, leaving. "Because even when we were married, you were the only thing that really made him happy." She nodded once, and then she was gone.

Bernie closed the door and looked at Olivia. "You were really going to pay her, weren't you?"

"I knew she'd back down," Olivia said, shrugging.

Bernie smirked. "But if she didn't you…"

"Don't tell Elliot," Olivia said, walking away from Bernie and heading for the stairs. "I'm gonna lay down, Mom."

Bernie watched her walk up, and her heart swelled. "Serena, I wish you could see her now," she mumbled. She headed back toward the kitchen to finish cleaning, hoping that she would never have to tell Olivia that she knew her mother, or how well.

**A/N: Were Bernie and Serena friends? How? And does Elliot find out about what Kathy has done? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: "If there is one thing a father is often jealous of, it is how much more his wife adores their children than him. When he realizes, though, that he is just as important to her and just as loved, jealousy becomes worship."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

Elliot walked into his house, slamming the door as he practically threw himself into the living room.

Olivia turned at the sound, and she saw him. His face was screwed up in an angry glare and he was heaving, like a pissed off bull. She closed her eyes, licked her lips as she took a breath, and she said, "Your mother told you."

"You weren't going to," he spat, his eyes narrowing. "You were really not gonna tell me she tried to blackmail you? Are you out of your fucking mind, trying to keep that from me?"

She stood in her spot, folding her arms, not flinching at the rage since she'd grown used to it. "I knew you would…do this," she said, throwing one hand in a gesture toward him. "I didn't want to piss you off, El. Forgive me for wanting you to be as happy as possible. I'm a horrible wife."

"Cut that shit out, right now," he barked, stepping toward her madly. "You're an amazing…shit, I know why you did it, my mother told me that, too, but you swore to me…we promised…no secrets, no lies," he told her, his voice sounding venomous.

She narrowed her eyes and dropped her arms. "Wow," she scoffed. "You really are making too much of this. I've never lied to you, and everything I've ever kept from you has come out one way or another, so I don't have any secrets. This wasn't about lying, Elliot, this was about keeping you calm, and preventing you from hating the mother of your children!"

He took a breath and closed his eyes, and though his jaw was clenched, he sounded a smidge less angry. "Thank you," he gritted out, "But you can't just…"

"She is part of your life," she interrupted. "She's done some pretty shitty things, yes, but you two were just getting along, making things work, working out visitations for the kids. If I would have said anything about this, you'd flip and never speak to her again."

He sighed, understanding that she was still trying to keep his life together for him. "Liv, I would have been mad with a damn good reason, but…"

"I know you," she interrupted. "You would have gone over there and told her that there was no way in hell…oh, my God," she paused, gasping, realizing. "That's why she told you. She knew this would be the last thing Kathy ever did, or tried to do, and that you'd…"

"Shit," he said with a small chuckle, cutting her off. "Leave it to my mother to give me a reason to cut ties with Kathy for good," he mused. He took another breath, focusing on calming down, and he looked into her still-worried eyes. "She told me something else, too."

"She finally told you Dickie got into a fight last week?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"What?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Nothing," she said too fast, "What did she tell you?"

He gave her a narrow-eyed smirk and he shook his head. "Yeah, we're talking about that later," he said, reaching for her hand in apology. He took it and caressed it with his thumb for a moment before interlocking their fingers. "She told me you called her 'Mom," he said as he brought his eyes to meet hers.

She nodded and let out a breath. "I did, yeah."

"She cried, honey," he told her, pulling her closer to him. "You made her cry. You don't know what that meant to her."

She dropped her forehead to his chest and she said, "It meant a lot to me, too, El. You know I had a lot of issues with my mother, so having someone make up for it all in such a short amount of time…it means the world to me."

He kissed the top of her head, then he used his free hand to cup her chin and raise her face. He kissed her lips and said, "To me, too. I am beyond relieved that the two of you get along so well. That she loves you so much. It tells me that this is all what's meant to happen. You and me, these little guys, it's our…"

"If you say 'destiny' I will hit you," she teased, smirking.

"Fate," he said with an attitude and a wink. He kissed her again and whispered, "She told me about you once. A long time ago."

"Your mom? About me? When?" she asked, confused.

Elliot pulled her hand, led her to the sofa, and made her sit. He sat beside her and pulled her into him, cuddling with her on their vastly comfortable cushion. "She just told me all of this, so don't look at me like that."

She chuckled. "Well, you're the one who was going off about keeping things…"

"She told me about you," he said with a grin. "But she told me today that it was you, does that make sense?" he laughed. "She knew your mother, they were in the same therapy group, God, must have been twenty years ago. She came home from one of her meetings and she said she'd met the most wonderful little girl. She told me how you were so playful, and charming, despite the bruises covering your arms."

"I don't remember meeting your mother," she said softly. "I don't remember my mother being in treatment for anything, either."

He kissed her forehead with a sympathetic sigh, and he said, "It was a court-ordered therapy group, women who'd endangered their children and didn't know it. My mother was there because she almost killed me in that snowstorm, and I'm guessing your mom was there because she hit you when she was drunk."

She shrugged and snuggled closer to him. "Maybe," she said. "So she just told you she met some happy, little girl?"

He chuckled. "She told me, her exact words, that she met the bravest little girl in the world. This girl was living in hell, suffering in silence, never complained, never let it get her down. She just kept smiling and making the best of things, and it took a lot of courage. She never told me your name, which is why, when I met you, I didn't make the connection. She told me today that the woman who sat next to her in that group was your mother, and that you were that little girl, and ya know what? Nothing has changed."

She furrowed her brow. "Everything has changed," she said with a surprised laugh.

He shook his head and cupped her face. "Nothing has," he said. "You are still that brave girl, baby. You just grew up."

"How am I…"

"Kathy came in here, threatening to tell me the only thing I don't wanna know about these babies unless you gave her the last of the money you were supposed to spend on the wedding." He brushed his lips over hers. "You stood up and you were gonna do it, because my happiness meant more to you than yours. You're still putting yourself last, making everyone around you happier than they need to be. Even at work, with total strangers, baby. You're…"

She kissed him, stopping his words, and she smiled against his lips. "Your happiness does mean more to me than my own. Yours, and the kids, because if you're all happy, that's what makes me happy."

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have come home like…"

"Hey, you had to deal with Cassidy all day," she interrupted with a chuckle. "I was expecting you to come home in a much worse mood than that."

He laughed and smiled at her, then pulled her into a slow, loving kiss, once again reminding himself that all of his mood swings today were because of his mother. "I'm still sorry," he said. I blamed you for keeping it from me, when really I should be pissed off at Kathy for even trying…"

She kissed him again, the smirk on her face a wicked one, and she chuckled at his irritated sounding sigh.

"I'm trying to talk to you," he said, pulling away from her with a laugh.

"I don't wanna talk," she said, shaking her head and shifting against game. "I've been home all day doing nothing," she told him. "That gave me a lot of time think. When I think, I think about you. And I'm pregnant, so when I think about you, I get…"

He was the one interrupting her with a kiss now. "I get it," he mumbled against her lips. "I missed you. So much." He broke their kiss and looked upstairs, then he asked, "Are they asleep?"

She shrugged. "I know they're in their rooms. I haven't heard any noise. Doesn't mean they're sleeping."

"We're just gonna have to take our chances," he chuckled, leaning over her, his lips grazing her neck. He dropped soft kisses to her skin and whispered, "Bedroom."

She laughed and pushed him up, rolling her eyes. "What was that about taking chances, then?"

He took her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom door, smirking. "I have a feeling you're gonna be a little louder than you plan to be tonight."

She raised an eyebrow and walked into the room, wondering what he meant, and hoping he was serious. As much as she loved being pregnant, it came with its annoyances, and her constant state of arousal was one of them.

He slowly stripped her, letting his fingers graze over her as he did, and he kissed her softly. Their light moans were the only sounds in the silent house.

She undressed him, caressing and kissing him back, and her heart began to pound. She knew she would never be used to him loving her, and she would always feel the slight nervousness before he touched her.

He whispered, "I love you," as he led her to the bed and laid her down gently, and he was hit with a wave of emotion as he looked at her. Her belly, large with their twins, and the look in her eyes made him fall in love with her all over again. He crept over her slowly, carefully enveloping her rather than leaning on her, and he kissed her.

The kiss was so slow and deep it almost made her cry, her emotions were fragile these days, and she gripped his arms to keep the tears away. "I love you, too," she said, finally returning his sentiment.

He smiled and let out a small laugh, moving his hands over her body and moving her a bit on her side. He looped a leg around her, working her around him with his hands, and he slowly pushed into her with a moan.

She kissed him harder, clutched him tighter, and whimpered. She needed him. Now. Always. She let herself get lost in his kiss, in his love, letting the fear fade for a while.

She couldn't tell him how scared she was of being a mother, though he made her promise she wouldn't keep secrets.

**A/N: Olivia has a conversation with Bernie, and then with Elliot, and the kids have a big problem to face. What? Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: "The most frightening thing a woman can do in this world is become a mother. It's also the most rewarding, fulfilling, and blessed thing they can do."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

Olivia was sitting on the couch, because she couldn't do much else anymore, and reading. It was the same book she'd read over and over for the last eight months. "What to Expect When You're Expecting." She knew what to expect, certainly, and she was scared to death of it all.

She flipped the page and bit her lip, re-reading the part about early stages of development, parental support and hitting benchmarks, and she dropped the book into her lap.

"What's the matter?" Bernie asked, sitting next to Olivia. She rested her hand on Olivia's knee and tilted her head.

Olivia dropped her head to Bernie's shoulder. "What if I feed them the wrong food, or they walk before they crawl. That causes horrible attitude problems. I know I'm gonna screw something up. God, what happens if I use those bottles with the…"

"Honey," Bernie laughed, shaking her head. "You sound like me. And Kathy. And every other mother in the world." She kissed Olivia's forehead and said, "You are going to be fine. These babies are going to be fine. Really."

Olivia closed her eyes. "No, Mom," she whispered, feeling the word roll off her tongue without stinging for the first time in years. "No, I'm gonna do something stupid and careless, and ruin them." She took a slow breath, closing her eyes. "I'm gonna buy the wrong diapers, or…God, what if they come out with some kind of horrible disease because I don't know my father's medical…"

"Stop that, sweetie," Bernie interrupted, nudging Olivia up. "You are worrying about nothing. You have to trust me on this."

A tear rolled down Olivia's cheek. "I don't know what I could be passing down," she whispered, keeping the waver out of her voice. Her bottom lip trembled and she blinked, letting more tears fall. "What I could have already done to them. I didn't even think…it didn't hit me until…"

Bernie cupped Olivia's face. "You're fine," she said, "Aren't you? You got half of your genes from that horrible man, and the other half from a woman who didn't know the first thing about motherhood. You grew up to be wonderful, loving, selfless…"

"Cop with a gun, I'm violent, Mom," Olivia said with a sniffle. "I really have a violent streak, and I…"

"You only get mad when it's necessary," Bernie said, holding up a finger. "You aren't violent, not without provocation. You are nothing like either of them, and you never will be. You are not your mother, Olivia."

"Keep trying, Mom," Elliot said, looking at them from the foyer. "I've been telling her that for years." He dropped his keys on the side table, and he walked over to her with open arms. "Come here," he whispered, pulling her up off the couch and into him.

She dropped her head to his chest. "I'm scared," she finally admitted, sobbing softly. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and said, "So scared."

He ran his hand over her back softly and stroked her hair gently with the other. "Oh, baby, I know you are you. I am, too. But we're gonna be great. You know we are. We can do anything if we're together, that's what makes us such amazing partners." He kissed the top of her head and said, "That's what makes us incredible lovers. We're a team, baby. A good one."

She nodded, still pressing herself tightly into his chest. She felt him rubbing slow circular patterns in her back, felt him kissing her head, felt him loving her. "You really think I'll be a good mother?"

"No," he said, pulling her off of him and holding her by the shoulders. He looked deeply into her eyes and he smiled. "You're gonna be an incredible mother."

She smiled at him, tears dripping down her face, and she kissed him. "Why are you home?" she asked with a sniffle.

He laughed and pulled her back into his arms. "You know you would rather have me home where you can see me than out there with Cassidy watching my back."

She chuckled and kissed the bit of his neck she could get to through his collar. "And Cragen just thought that was a valid reason to send you home?"

"Well, actually, no," he said, sitting on the couch and pulling her into his lap, letting her sit with her legs over him. "Mom called and told him she couldn't get you to stop reading or crying. He got worried, sent me home to cheer you up."

"Oh, you have no idea how much happier I am now that you're here," she said, snuggling into him. "I'm too emotional for my own good."

He let out a small laugh and began rubbing her feet, slowly pressing his fingers into her sore, swollen soles. "My poor baby," he whispered.

She moaned and dropped her head back, smirking. "You're good at that," she said softly. "Too damn good."

"You know I give one hell of a massage," he said with a wink. "And I know how badly you're feet and back have been hurting, ya know you're carrying a lot of extra weight with those babies."

"If I wasn't loving what you're doing right now, I would kick you for that," she said, moaning again as he massaged her ankles.

He laughed and shook his head. "I didn't mean it that way, you know that," he said, looking at her. He sighed as he took in her body and the look on her face. "You are so beautiful, honey," he whispered to her.

She popped one eye open. "Oh, you don't need to sweet talk," she said. "Keep this up and you're definitely getting laid tonight."

"I'm still in the room, ya know," Bernie said, shaking her head.

Elliot looked at his mother with a silly grin. "And Olivia is eight months pregnant, Mom. Obviously, she is not the second coming of Virgin Mary. We have…"

"I don't need to hear about it!" Bernie shouted, making her way into the kitchen.

Elliot laughed and looked back at Olivia, blinking once before saying, "It wasn't just sweet talk. I mean it. The way you are right now, so relaxed, so content, the way your face changed just a little bit, and the way your body filled out. You're one gorgeous mother."

She sighed and lifted her legs off of him, shaking her head. "That's one thing about this I can say, I really do feel beautiful lately."

"You should always feel beautiful," he said, moving toward her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I wanna make you feel beautiful, all the…"

"You do," she interrupted, cutting him off. "You always do." She kissed him softly and sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder again. "Did you talk to Kathy?"

He groaned. "Things were going so well, Liv," he whined, dropping his head back on the couch. "Yeah, I talked to her. Very, uh, loudly. And violently."

"What did you do?" she asked, sitting up a bit and rolling her eyes.

"I didn't tell her I wanted her out of the kids' lives or anything, don't roll your eyes like that," he said with a smirk. "I yelled at her, I may have cried a little which I think got to her a bit, but then she…she did the strangest thing."

"She ripped off the costume to reveal she's really a praying mantis?" she asked, joking but with a seriousness in her eyes at which Elliot couldn't help but chuckle.

"That would explain a lot of things," he laughed, "But no. She, uh, she apologized. She apologized for everything. From accusing me of having an affair with you to trying to blackmail you, and everything in between. Alan even fucking apologized."

She raised both eyebrows and let out a surprised, "Hmph."

"That's kinda what my reaction was," he said with a laugh, leaning forward to kiss her. "Only I think I may have actually said, 'Holy Shit' rather than just thinking it."

She laughed, and when she calmed down she sighed and looked into his eyes. "I love you," she said.

"I'm lovable," he told her, with a cocky shrug and a wink.

She rolled her eyes and hit him with a pillow, saying, "You can forget about getting laid now."

He let out a hearty laugh, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you, too, baby." He kissed the top of her head, her temple, her cheek, her chin, and her neck in succession, choosing to linger over her pulse for a moment longer.

She moaned and clutched the back of his head. "El, you…God, you have to stop, the kids are gonna be walking through the door…"

He nipped harder, staying where he was, moaning as he ran his hands over her body.

"El, honey, we…" she stopped talking again, her body giving into him, leaning back on the couch. "What if the kids…"

"Stop talking," he mumbled against her skin, moving up to her lips.

She moaned again, eyeing the archway to the kitchen. "What if your mother…"

"That did it," he said with a sigh, laughing as he pulled away from her. He stood up and held out his hand.

She raised an eyebrow and placed her hand in his, and she let him pull her up. He led her over to the stairs, and he yelled, "Mom, we're gonna go take a nap. Liv's exhausted!"

Bernie yelled back, "I thought I told you I didn't need to hear about it!"

Elliot laughed as he got his wife up the steps, shaking his head at his mother. He guided Olivia to their bedroom, opened the door, and kissed her head again. "We really could just take a nap, you know." He brushed his lips over hers and whispered, "You're really tired."

She looked at him, feeling her heart swell. She took a step toward the bed, taking him with her, and once they found their way under the covers, she nestled close to him.

He moved his hands around her body, resting them on her belly. "I love you," he said, his eyes closing.

She kissed his chin, and she whispered, "I'm lovable."

He chuckled, his eyes scrunching but still closed. "Yes, you are," he whispered back, pulling her closer. "You still afraid?"

She nuzzled him and closed her eyes as her head dropped to his chest. "Not afraid, no," she said. "Nervous, but not afraid."

"Nerves are normal," he mumbled, falling asleep. "I won't let you be afraid."

She sighed into him, and just before she drifted off, she whispered, "I love you, too."

**A/N: Kathy apologized? Hmmm. The kids come home to a surprise of their own, Olivia gets over some issues, and Cragen stops by. Why? Review here, or on twitter: TMG212**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: "Motherhood is not something you can properly prepare for until you look into your child's eyes. It is then that you realize you've been a mother all along."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. TStabler© owns this story.**

Dickie was the first one in the house after school the following day, tired and agitated from another day of being picked on because his parents were cops. He sighed as he rolled his eyes and dropped his book bag behind the couch. "I'm home!" he yelled. "If anyone cares," he mumbled under his breath heading for the refrigerator.

He opened the door and thought he heard someone call him. He shut the fridge, the apple he wanted in his hands. He sank his teeth into the juicy fruit as he made his way toward the stairs. "Mom?" he yelled.

He heard nothing, so he shrugged and walked toward the couch. He grabbed the remote and dropped into the comfortable, cushy, seat.

The door opened behind him, and he chewed his apple as he craned his head to look at his sister. He grinned and said, "No one's home."

Lizzie looked toward the ceiling. "Are you sure?"

Dickie nodded. "Called upstairs," he said. "No answer." He took another large bite of his apple.

"Mom?" Lizzie called, heading toward the stairs as Kathleen and Maureen walked into the living room, shutting the door behind them. "Mom?"

Hearing what sounding like a moan, Lizzie bolted up the stairs with wide eyes. The other kids looked at each other only for a moment before bounding up behind her, panicked. They filed toward the sound, and found Olivia, doubled over Dickie's bed.

"Mom!" Lizzie yelled, running to her.

"Father," Olivia seethed, one hand on her belly and the other clutching the laundry basket on the mattress. "Call your father."

Dickie ran for the nearest phone as the girls looped their arms around their stepmother. "Are you…I mean, is it time for…" Kathleen couldn't get the words out.

Olivia nodded, taking a deep breath through her nose and letting it out through her mouth. She repeated the action, trying to stay calm, focused, but all she could think about was pain. A lot of pain.

Dickie ran back into the room, white as a ghost. "It went to voicemail," he said. "I called Uncle Fin, and he's gonna go find Dad."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Why does he pick now to get involved with his case?" she asked angrily. "I gotta get downstairs," she said, holding one arm out to hold onto Maureen. "Katie, honey, grab the diaper bag out of the nursery, and the duffle by the door."

"Got it," the blonde girl yelled, running out of her brother's room and into the nursery. She grabbed the two overstuffed bags and followed her siblings and Olivia down the stairs. "Where's Grandma?"

Olivia took a deep breath through clenched teeth. "Book club," she spat. "Call your father again!" she yelled, a contraction ripping through her. "Mo, honey, you need to drive."

"What?" Maureen yelped. "Mom, I can't see over the dashboard in the SUV! I'll kill all of us if…"

"Three of us could die if you don't," Lizzie said, jutting her chin toward Olivia. "Maur, you gotta try."

Maureen took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she grabbed the spare keys off of the hook by the door. "Dickie, help her into the car, and pray," she said, speeding toward the truck. She got in, behind the wheel, and shoved the key into the ignition. She turned it and rested her hand on the gear shift, then looked over at Olivia, who was breathing fast as Dickie buckled her seatbelt.

"Mo, baby," Olivia said, pain in her eyes.

Maureen tried to calm down as she answered, "Yeah, Mom?"

"This is the first and only time I will ever tell you this," Olivia said, keeping her breathing rhythmic.

"What?" Maureen asked, the car idling as she leaned closer to her stepmom.

Olivia groaned as another contraction hit, and she gritted out a firm and unpleasant, "Drive like your father."

Maureen took another breath and stepped on the gas, the tires screeched as she pulled away from the curb, and they were off, anxious and eager to meet the two newest Stablers.

* * *

Maureen had never driven faster in her life, and she was pretty certain Olivia would have had heart-attack if she wasn't having babies. She parked crookedly in front of the emergency room doors, and an orderly, who had been alerted by someone that she was coming, was waiting with a wheelchair.

"Detective Benson," the man said, grinning.

"Stabler," Olivia said with a painful moan. She plopped into the wheelchair and steadied her breathing, relaxing a bit since she knew she was safe.

The orderly laughed and pushed the chair down the hall. "We're gonna take good care of you. Your doctor is waiting in the room, and if you're ready to meet…"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head. "Not without Elliot."

The orderly looked around, confused. "Well, Detective Stabler isn't…"

"Then I'm not ready," she said, interrupting him again. She looped an arm around him as he helped her stand.

The man and a nurse got Olivia up into the bed, and the orderly let out a sigh as he left the room, allowing the nurse to help get Olivia out of her clothes and into a gown. Olivia dropped flat to the mattress, then gripped the metal bars on the sides of the hospital bed as the nurse positioned her.

The doctor gave her a quick once-over, and he shook his head. "Olivia, you're almost fully dilated. How long have you been…"

"All day," Olivia said, rolling her eyes, knowing she'd be lectured in a moment. "I wanted to wait…Elliot wanted to be there when this happened." A tear rolled down her cheek and she said, "He should have been there, but I couldn't wait anymore." She moaned in pain and squeezed the metal bars in her hands even tighter.

"You still can't," the doctor said, snapping on his gloves. "You've gotta lean back and brace yourself, honey. These babies are coming, now.

"Not…" she paused to sniffle and twist in pain. "God, not without Elliot! I'm not…I can't do this without him," she cried, shaking her head.

The door swung open and a man in scrubs ran into the room, over to her. "You don't have to," he said, clutching her hands tightly. "I'm here, baby."

She looked up into the eyes of the man with her now, and though he was wearing a paper mask, she knew it was him. She gave him a weary smile and said, "Hi, baby."

He let go of one of her hands and brushed her hair back, kissing her through the thin filter paper. "I'm here," he whispered, closing his eyes.

She squeezed his hand, letting a noise of pure pain loose, and she nodded at the doctor.

Elliot moved, climbing onto the bed, and cradled her between his legs, supporting her as she got ready to push. "You ready to meet our babies, Liv?" he asked, whispering into her ear.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she gave yet another nod. She was as ready as she was ever going to be.

"You think she's okay?" Maureen asked, biting her nails as she paced back and forth in the waiting room.

Fin smiled. "I think she's fine," he said. "Baby-Girl's tough. Nothin' she can't do."

Bernie shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I should have been there," she said. "Something told me to stay with her and I didn't, and she could have…"

Cragen held up a hand. "Olivia Benson is stubborn, Bernie," he said. "She would have fought with you until you left. She doesn't like when people change plans for her, or treat her like she's fragile, or special, or…what she really is."

Bernie smiled. "She really is special," she said, nodding.

"Yeah," Cragen nodded. "She is."

The kids were all watching the wooden doors, expecting Elliot to come in any minute, expecting it to be like the movies, fast and emotional. What they got instead was a few more hours of waiting, and worrying, until the doors finally swung open.

"Dad!" Dickie yelled, standing.

"Hey, kid," Elliot said with a big smile and a small sniffle. "You're a big brother, buddy."

Dickie smiled and said, "I know, Dad. How are they?"

Elliot wiped his eyes and looked at the small conglomerate of people in the waiting room, nervous and tense. "They're so amazing," he said with a laugh as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "The boy came out easy, but that little girl gave Liv a run for her money, man. She is definitely her mother's daughter."

"A boy and a girl?" Fin asked, grinning.

Elliot nodded, placing one hand over his heart. "Michael James and Madison Bernadette," he said, nodding once at his mother.

"Oh, honey," Bernie whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

Elliot ran to her and hugged her tight. "I wouldn't have her," he said. "I wouldn't have her or those beautiful angels if it wasn't for you, Mom."

Bernie gave her sun a squeeze and patted his back. "I wanna meet my new grandbabies," she said, wiping at her eyes as she pulled away from him.

"Yeah, Dad," Lizzie said, "I wanna meet my new baby brother and sister!"

Elliot laughed, sniffling still as his tears flowed freely. "Come on," he said, holding his hand out to his no-longer-youngest daughter. "Let's go." He nodded at his mother and gestured to his other kids, then led them all into Olivia's room.

She was half-asleep, her hair was damp with sweat and sticking to her head at odd angles, and the smile on her face was priceless.

Elliot walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and settling onto the side of the bed. "Ready guys?" he asked, kissing his wife's forehead.

There were nods and murmurs, and then Elliot looked at the nurse. He smiled at her and gave a small wave, and the woman in white brought over two bundled babies, one wrapped in a pink blanket, the other swaddled in blue.

Olivia sniffled and smiled as the twins were placed in her arms, and she couldn't rip her eyes away from the newborns. "They're so…"

"Perfect," Elliot finished, with a smile. "They're perfect, baby."

The kids' eyes lit up as they watched the babies wiggle, closed-eyed, and Kathleen was the first to pose the question. "They've got dark hair, but do they have…"

"They've got blue eyes," he said, smirking. "They'll know they belong, and you'll all make them feel it."

Maureen wiped a falling tear from her eye, and she asked, "What did you do when they told you Michael was a boy?"

Olivia chuckled. "Have you ever seen a football player do one of those stupid dances after he scores a touchdown?"

Bernie laughed loudly. "Oh, you didn't, Elliot," she chided.

"I wanted a boy," he shrugged. "A victory dance seemed appropriate." He kissed Olivia's forehead again and said, "I would like you to know that I did the same dance when Madison arrived."

The kids laughed and then Dickie cleared his throat. "I'm kinda of gonna miss being the only boy, now that I think about it."

"What?" Elliot asked.

Olivia looked at her stepson. "You were praying for a boy," she said, confused.  
"Yeah, but now…I guess I didn't realize how special I was being the only guy, ya know?" he asked, looking at the new sleeping Stablers.

"You're still special," Elliot said, resting a hand on his son's shoulder. "You were my first boy, my first twin, and you will always be my oldest guy. This little one is gonna rely on you to teach him the ways of the Stabler men, kid. You up for that?"

Dickie sighed, then he smiled. He nodded and said, "Yeah. Definitely." He gave his father a hug and kissed Olivia.

Olivia leaned closer to Elliot, his arms tightened around her, and they both peered down at the sleeping angels. She looked at her children and she sighed contently, feeling any issues she'd had about being a mother evaporate like boiled water.

"I love you," Elliot whispered to her with a soft smile. "I love all three of you, so much." He kissed her lips gently and rested his forehead against hers. "I don't know what else to say, baby."

"Don't say anything," she whispered back, kissing the end of his nose. "Just enjoy this," she said, looking back down at the new twins.

Bernie looked on, taking a mental picture of the scene, and she sighed. This was probably the most perfect moment of her life, and she felt more like a mother now than ever. She knew, though, that it wouldn't last. Happiness in her life never did.

**A/N: Final chapter, next! Review here or on Twitter: TMG212**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: "Motherhood doesn't change people, it just brings out qualities they didn't have the need to show before they had children."**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters? Dick Wolf. This story? TStabler©**

He watched her as she rocked their daughter to sleep in the chair Bernie had placed in the nursery so many months ago. He had their son in his arms, sleeping soundly, bundled up tight, and his eyes were on his wife.

She was humming a song he didn't know, with a smile on her face he hadn't seen until the babies were born. A new smile that reached her ears, giving her face warmth and a glow. He sighed to himself as he moved toward the first crib, placing the baby gently on the pillow. He moved over to his wife, he knelt beside her, leaned over and kissed her cheek.

She turned her head, noticing him for the first time it seemed. She winked at him, her humming still soft and her chair still rocking. She looked back down at the baby in her arms.

"You're really happy," he said in amazement.

She nodded. "I am," she said, her voice a whisper as her humming stopped. "She's asleep, finally."

"Don't get up, I got her," he whispered to her, rising to his feet and taking the tiny girl from Olivia. He walked her over to the second crib, slowly, and just as gently as he had with his son, he laid his daughter down.

He looked from the baby girl to the baby boy, and he shook his head, still unable to believe that they were there, they were his and Olivia's, and they were perfect. He swiped a single fingertip down the bridge of his daughter's nose, something he had done the minute she was born, which had come to mean a silent "I love you." He was astounded at how much she looked like Olivia, and it gave him a deeper connection to her, a deeper desire to protect her because he wasn't there to protect Olivia when she was little.

He sighed and repeated the gesture with his son, promising to give him the best life he could, promising it to all of his children.

Olivia watched him do this, and she got to her feet, out of the rocking chair, and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, standing behind him, and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You're happy, too."

"More than you could possibly know," he whispered, turning his head to look at her. He kissed her, then took hold of her hands, pulling her away from his waist and turning toward the archway that led to their bedroom.

He tugged, making her follow, as he led her out of the nursery. He sighed as he flipped off the light and let go of her hand. He pulled his tee shirt over his head and slipped out of his jeans, leaving just a pair of blue briefs covering him. He eyed his wife, smirked, then dropped the cotton to his feet, kicking the garment over to the hamper.

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, then moved toward the bed.

"Uh-uh," he said, shaking his head. Naked, he strode over to her, grabbed the hem of the long tee-shirt she was wearing, and pulled it up, over her head. He looked into her eyes as he dropped his hands to her white panties, and he held her gaze as he slid them over her hips, letting them fall. "Much better," he whispered, kissing her.

She raised an eyebrow as she watched him pull down the quilt and held her into the bed. He simply smirked at her and crawled in on his side.

"I know you're self-conscious now, but baby, you have no reason to be." He pulled her close to him, lifting her leg up a bit and draping her body over his. He pulled the blanket over them and he kissed her shoulder. "You're body is amazing, your stretch marks, the few that you have, are there because you just gave birth to two of our children, baby. You're absolutely perfect."

She sighed as he kissed her, wondering why his habit of sleeping naked popped up. Since the moment she found out she was pregnant, he would undress her and hold her, skin to skin, every night. Even nights they didn't have sex. He wanted to see her body change, feel it. And now he wanted to watch and feel her body, her new motherly form, bounce back to the tight armor it once was.

He kissed her collar bone, then her chin, then finally her lips, and said, "I didn't fall in love with you because you had a killer body. Though, honestly, it is a definite plus." He chuckled and said, "I fell in love with you because of who you are, and that doesn't change because you overdid it with the pickles and ice cream." He trailed a finger down her hips, rounder than they ever were. "This is the body of a mother, honey," he whispered to her. "An amazing mother."

Her heart swelled and her breath hitched for a moment. "Yeah," she said. "Well, we're still going to the gym in the morning." She kissed him and said, "I still have a job to do, and I can't do it carrying fifteen extra pounds."

He laughed and kissed her. "All right," he told her. "We'll go. I just wanted you to know that I'm not..."

"I know," she said, interrupting him. "I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if I thought that's how your mind worked." She snuggled close to him and shut her eyes, whispering, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mommy," he said with a smile, kissing her temple.

She smiled at his words, feeling her heart melt at them. She was almost asleep, comfortable and warm, when the wailing cry of her son filled the room.

They both shot up, looked at each other, and got out of the bed. They each grabbed a robe, wrapping it around them, and made it into the nursery just in time for their daughter to join her brother's crying chorus.

Olivia chuckled under her breath as she lifted her son into her arms, knowing the routine. She watched Elliot pick up their daughter and they began their now-well-choreographed dance, taking turns at the changing table and rocking chair, and then settling on the floor, Olivia sitting with Elliot behind her, wrapped around her, as she fed each small child.

He kissed the back of her head, then her neck, then rested his head on her shoulder, watching her work. "This is so beautiful," he whispered to her. "You are, like this, with them, I can't..."

She turned her head, ignoring the gnawing and nipping her son was doing to her sensitive skin. "You can't...what?"

He shook his head and sniffled, wiping his eyes with one hand. "Nothing," he mumbled.

She smiled at him, touched at his emotion, his openness with her. She remembered the early days of their partnership, when they couldn't even consider themselves friends. He would hide everything form her. He wouldn't let her see him smile, get pissed off, and he certainly wouldn't let him see her cry. He tried to close her off, tried to keep her away.

She took a breath, thanking God that he failed, that he let her in, and they had what they had now. "I love you," she said, dropping her forehead to his.

He nodded, sniffled again, and kissed her nose. "Gimme him," he said, nodding at his boy. He and Olivia switched children and he moved back just a bit to burp him as she fed their daughter.

"Fed, changed, burped, and sleeping," she said, shaking her head. "If they cry now, I give up."

He laughed as he got to his feet carefully, then helped her up off of the floor. They walked to the cribs, let down the twins, and padded back into their bedroom. They dropped their robes, not caring where they landed, and crawled back into the bed. They didn't even have to try, they simply fell asleep.

* * *

Bernie, peeking into the room her son shared with his wife, sighed when she saw their peaceful faces, their arms wound around each other. She smiled as she realized she had been wrong about trouble heading her way. She was so used to things falling apart, crashing down, that she just expected it.

She took a few steps down the hall and nudged open the door to the nursery, and smiled even wider as she took in the sight of the sleeping babies. She had done it. She had given her son what he wanted, made sure he got the life he deserved and the complete family he dreamed about. She closed the door quietly and walked toward her own room, shaking her head.

Bernadette Stabler was never the best mother. She was flighty, she had a lot of issues and a lot of flaws, and she took a lot of her anger and irritation out on her youngest son as he grew up. It took her so long to accept him for what he was, accept his choice to become a cop like his father, accept his mistake-filled marriage. It took her even longer to be supportive in all of it, to be the protective and loving mother he needed.

She got into her bed and turned out her light, and she looked up at the ceiling. "Better late than never," she mumbled with a small laugh. And as her eyes closed, she felt a wave of peace roll over her, telling her that her work was done. She chuckled and shook her head, falling deeper into her slumber. She was laughing at her own subconscious thoughts, and she rolled onto her side as she mumbled, "A mother's work is never done."

**A/N: And so it ends! Thank you all for sticking with this story, and I hope I've painted Bernie in a way that made you love her. And in honor of Mother's Day tomorrow, I'd like to send warm thanks and blessings to all of the mothers out there, raising bright, beautiful children. :) Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


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